The Deepest Bond
by Pyrrhus
Summary: BtVS x HP When Natasha Summers and Susanna Weasley meet up at a summer camp in their sixteenth summer, they discover a secret that both of their parents kept from them for fifteen years.
1. Prologue

**The Deepest Bond**

_Prologue_

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the Harry Potter series. They belong respectively to Joss Whedon & Mutant Enemy and JK Rowling.

Summary: Natasha Summers and Susanna Weasley meet at a summer camp in their sixteenth summer and uncover a secret kept from them these many years.

Note: I have no knowledge whatsoever of the Romani culture or lifestyle. Whatever is written henceforth is completely fictional.

I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed the previous version - tammin, Buffy & Harry Fan, LillyLikeyMiley, Nice Huntress, Kat Hawkins, CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur and Average Everyday Sane Psycho. Thank you immensely for the feedback, it meant a lot and really helped reshape and make this a better piece of writing.

* * *

Dawn couldn't remember a time when she'd felt so betrayed. She had refused to talk to Buffy before she'd gotten on the plane and she still stood by her decision, three hours later. If she hadn't known Buffy for her entire made-up life, she would've thought that this was some sick joke and still half-expected everyone to jump out and say 'Gotcha!' But that wasn't going to happen. Buffy had sent her away. Said that the Hellmouth was too dangerous, even if her Keyness was dormant, even if she didn't want to go. Said that she had to go somewhere else to get a grip on herself. Said that it was safer someplace where she wasn't the Slayer's kid sister. Hello, so not a kid anymore. She was almost seventeen and everything.

Dawn sunk lower into her seat, ignoring the disgruntled look of the older woman next to her. She expected a disgruntled teen? Well, Dawn would give it to her... when she was done sulking over Buffy's betrayal. How could she do this? How could she expect Dawn to ever feel safe again without Buffy and the Scoobies to look after her? How would Dawn ever _be_ safe without them? Tuesday was only two days away. Who was going to save her when she got in trouble? There wasn't even a question as to whether there would be trouble. She was Dawn and Tuesdays always came around sooner or later.

The ironic part was Buffy had given Dawn _choices_, only Sunnydale wasn't one of them. She couldn't even be in America. Nope, her choices were the coven in England or Ms Calendar's old Romani tribe. Just to be difficult, Dawn had picked the latter. Not only that but there was a part of her that knew that she'd experience life with the Romani, instead of being cooped up in some house in the land of tea and tweed. A part of her called to travel and she answered that part to the best of her ability.

The teenager just hoped that Tuesday didn't come too quickly.

* * *

Dawn spent the next two and a half years of her life travelling with a migratory family from Jenny, or Janna's old clan, the Kalderash. She was taken in by a girl, Corina and her family. The first few months were hard before Dawn grew used to their customs and came to terms with the fact that she'd never truly be accepted into Janna's old clan, no matter how good friends she became with Corina. There was an old tradition and religious belief and Dawn accepted that she wasn't a part of it.

Once she opened herself to her surroundings, what she found was both a shock and a delight to Dawn's senses. When they visited them, Dawn convinced Corina's aunts to teach her their magic, the same kind that had cursed Angelus and she learnt much under their tutelage. Her uncles and cousins continued to teach her self-defense, building on the expansive repertoire she'd compiled with Buffy. She met an amazing variety of people, from brilliant and kind to the more unsavory types.

Dawn refused to keep in contact with Sunnydale for the first six months, except for Spike, of course, who threatened to come and get her himself before she convinced him it was all right. It wasn't until Xander contacted her, warning her that if they didn't hear back, they'd assume she'd been killed and sacrificed to the hocus gypsy gods and come and seek revenge that she really made an effort. Really, who could resist a message like that? However, no matter how much she missed her, Dawn couldn't let Buffy back into her life. Her sister had shown a disturbing aptitude for throwing everything on its head and pulling Dawn's life down around her ears. She still loved hearing news of Sunnydale and found that the more time she spent with Corina Kalderash, the less it felt like Buffy had ripped out her heart and replaced it with an alarm clock.

Romani magic was not the only she encountered on what she considered her exile from Sunnydale. As Dawn's eighteenth birthday came and went, she started branching out on her own, away from Corina and her family, but always keeping in touch, feeling close to the people who had helped to guide her during the last two years. After Xander, Willow, Buffy, Giles and, surprisingly, Faith, who happened to be shacking up with Xander, came and helped celebrate, Dawn started travelling solo, not that she told the Scoobies this otherwise she would have been dragged back to Sunnyhell, which ironically was now where she didn't want to be.

Dawn found she didn't tire of this. She learnt as much, even more, alone as when she'd travelled with the Romani. Thanks to the experience with them, she was never swindled or taken advantage of. She was forever indebted to them, even more so for introducing her to the Romania Institute of Dragon Taming, an institution installed by the British Ministry of Magic. She'd been stunned speechless to hear of it and had demanded Corina take her as soon as they met up again. Dawn had hiked for three days to intercept Corina before her family passed it and she had barely made it on time.

Dawn, Corina and a couple of their friends made a night of getting into the Institute through connections and finding fun for themselves. They were careful to stay as far away from the dragons as physically possible while still on the property and it was not in vain. They were invited to the nearby village, which had a more suitable nightlife, if you could call it that. For the nights following, Dawn and her friends kept the dragon tamers company. Even when Corina and her family moved on, Dawn felt compelled to stay. It wasn't until a few weeks later that she realised why: she'd fallen in love. This love was nothing compared to what she previously thought had been love. It was so much more than her infatuation with Xander or Spike or even that stupid vampire on Halloween.

She'd fallen head over heels in love with an English wizard and dragon tamer called Charlie Weasley. In love enough that a year later when he proposed, she said yes. In love enough that soon after, she fell pregnant. In love enough that she gave up her wandering ways and moved back to England with him.

* * *

Dawn's love didn't stop her from calling Giles from the London airport in tears a year later, asking him to be ready to come pick her up when her flight got in. She hung up before he could ask too many questions and hushed the baby she was carrying with her. This pain was nothing compared to when Buffy had sent her away. It was a thousand times worse. She felt her heart had been barbecued by a Common Welsh Green and she was left with a burnt, withered husk. An unhappy gurgle from the baby basket made Dawn change her mind. Her heart would never be empty with her little Natasha Joyce Summers. She felt both relieved and nauseous when the final boarding call for her flight was announced over the speakers.

Without thinking, she bounced her baby on her hip as she moved toward the gate. "Da! Da!"

"Shhh, I know, love, I know. It'll be all right. We'll be fine without him."

"Na! Na!" Dawn's tears increased as she tried in vain to calm her daughter.

She made the flight back to the LAX in automatic, her beautiful baby girl mercifully silent on the flight home. She met Giles at the gate and ran to the man who was practically her father, falling into his arms.

"Dawn, what happened?"

"Charlie a-and I, we, I... it didn't work Giles." Dawn's already tear-streaked face crumpled and he carefully pulled her into his arms, amazed at and wary of the baby in her arms.

"Dawn... where's Susanna?"

Dawn shook her head, sucking in a deep breath to get the sentence out without blubbering all over his jacket. "Charlie has her. I'm lucky to have Natasha. The Ministry wanted Charlie to have both of them 'cos he's a pureblood wizard and he was staying in England. I thought I could do it, Giles. What went wrong?"

"Nothing. This is not your fault, do you understand? These things happen. Do not worry for either of your girls. They're in good hands. Now, come on. Connor's waiting for us in the car."

"Na! Na!" Dawn couldn't help but wholeheartedly agree with her baby. She missed Tash's twin just as much as Tash did.


	2. Chapter One

_Chapter One_

Note: This chapter takes place sixteen years after the prologue.

The disclaimer can be found in the prologue.

* * *

Music blared from a room on the second floor of the Hyperion, making the adults working downstairs glance toward the stairs then towards the brunette working at the counter. Dawn Summers was resolutely not looking up. If Natasha wanted to act like a spoilt princess then she could. Dawn refused to give in to her. She also refused that maybe Tash had a reasonable excuse for acting the way she was but Dawn wasn't going to think about it. Nope. No sirree.

Someone cleared their throat. Loudly. In her ear. Dawn threw a glare at Buffy who was smirking. "Go talk to her, Dawnie."

"No. If she's not going to act like a mature adult, then she doesn't get treated like one."

"She's not a mature adult. She's a sixteen year old girl who feels rejected. Go talk to her." Dawn pouted and Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You know what? Before you go, how about you start acting like a mature adult." Dawn stuck her tongue out at her sister's retreating back, knowing the blonde had a point. She took a deep breath and quickly closed the windows on her computer before she lost her resolve.

Xander patted her on the arm as she passed and she smiled at him. Someone who knew what she was going through, though the old saying 'it takes a village to raise a child' was extremely accurate in this case. Almost every adult who worked for the LA branch of the Watcher's Council had had a hand in raising Tash from the moment Dawn had walked through those double doors sixteen years ago. If it hadn't been for them... well, she didn't want to think about it.

She stopped at the closed door and smirked at the message written on the whiteboard her daughter had installed once she got into her teens.

_Go away._

_Yes Mom, this means YOU._

Completely disregarding her daughter's wishes, she knocked on the door. Loudly. "Tash, open up." Silence answered. Dawn scowled. "Natasha Joyce Summers, you get this door open NOW or you're in deep trouble."

This time an angry voice, similar to her own, replied, "What more trouble could I be in? You're sending me to England!"

"I'm not going to argue with a wooden door. Please?" Dawn waited, silently counting to thirty in her head. There was shuffling inside and the music was turned down but Dawn wasn't sure whether Tash was moving to open the door or teasing her. At 29 seconds, she opened, a scowl on her face. Dawn was struck by the blue eyes that were not hers at all, no matter what Willow told her. Those were pure Charlie. She pulled her mind and raised an eyebrow at her daughter.

Her shoulder length auburn hair had obviously been abused by fingers many a time and her eyes were red and puffy, something that had been inherited from Dawn. She always looked terrible after she'd been crying. Her hands were on her hips and she had long since perfected the apathetic waiting pose. "You're talking to a face now. What did you want to say?"

Dawn sighed. "You wanted to go to this camp a week ago. What changed?"

"You did, Mom. You should have told me you were going away in the first place. There are dozens of camps in the US and you pipe up with this random one in England and I thought, great, I get to go away and leave the prying eyes of my family. Oh, but wait, no I'm not because my mother is going to be a day's drive away because she's doing a 'work thing' with some random Scottish bloke!" Tash's cheeks were red with anger and she glared meanly at her mother.

"Tash..." Dawn tried to hug her daughter and Tash pushed her away, retreating into her room but leaving her door open. Dawn closed the door behind her and sat on the purple bedspread. "I have to go away, I have no choice. If I don't I'll get fired."

"It's not like you don't work for the Council anyway."

"But this is normal, everyday work. It keeps me focused, you know that." Tash did. It didn't mean she wanted to admit it. "I just wanted to stay close. I thought it would be nice."

Tash was trying very hard to stay angry but it was hard when her mom was looking so dejected. "Mom, this whole mess could have been avoided if you'd just told me. I wouldn't have cared. I'm angry because you don't think I'm old enough to be trusted to know that you are still keeping an eye on me. I'm sixteen. I'm going to a wizard camp in England. It's not exactly abnormal for us. There's going to be adult supervision the entire time and you're still smothering me."

"What else do you want me to do, Tash?"

"Tell me the freaking truth, mom!" Dawn was having flashbacks to similar conversations between herself and Buffy. Goddess, no wonder Buffy had thought she was a brat but at the same time she understood because she'd been on the smothered end once.

"Fine. Ian, I and a couple of friends are going to an excavation in Scotland. They need me for my language skills. I will be there for a maximum of two weeks. I'll leave after you do and I'll be back before you. You won't even know I've been gone. Anything else?"

"Ian? Ian the Annoying?" The glare was back but for an entirely different reason. Tash didn't approve of Ian.

"It's a work thing, Tash."

Tash snorted and muttered something under her breath.

"Would you like to repeat that?"

"Nope. I'm good." Dawn smiled and shook her head at her daughter. She opened her arms and Tash didn't hesitate in joining her on the bed and hugging her. "I don't like being angry at you, Mom."

"I don't like it when you're angry either. You're scary for a kid." Tash poked Dawn in the side and Dawn couldn't help the yelp that escaped from her mouth and jumped up, glaring at Tash. "No. No tickling the mom."

"Fine. I'll just sick Xander on you."

"Xander and I are mature adults," Dawn reported primly and Tash gave her a weird look. "What?"

"Are we talking about the same Xander? The Xander who still plays with his food?"

Dawn shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

Tash smiled and shook her head, mimicking her mother from moments before. "Shoo, get back to your work. You've got to prepare for the ordeal."

"It's just an excavation, Tash."

"I was talking about Ian." Dawn poked her tongue out and exited, feeling lighter now that her and Tash weren't fighting. Xander gave her a thumbs up as she went by and Dawn nodded. All was well in Dawnverse.

* * *

Tash frowned as she made sure her mother was gone. She pulled an old photograph out from under her pillow and stared at it. It was old, older than she was though obviously not by much. It was of her pregnant mother and a redhaired man. She looked young, around 20 or so. He had a huge grin and a hand on her mom's belly. He was solid, a stocky build and barely taller than Dawn, who was pretty tall for a girl. They looked happy. The gold marriage bands winked merrily in the sun and Tash touched the man's face. This had to be her father. No wonder this had been hidden under several heavy things in her mother's closet.

She'd gone in to sift through her clothes because for a mom, Dawn dressed well. It didn't hurt that they were the same shoe size. She'd been searching for shoes and she'd found this. She just knew that she wasn't meant to have this but she couldn't help it. What had happened? They looked so happy, so in love, if body language was anything to go by. Surely something like that didn't just die.

Her door opened before she was able to hide the photo and her eyes were wide as she stared at the person in the doorway. Connor Angel. Crap. Practically her mother's best friend and Tash's pseudo-uncle. "Hi Connor."

"Give it here." His tone brooked no room for argument.

She let her hand fall down to the mattress and slipped the photo under her leg. "Give what here?"

"I know you have a photo of your father. I saw you slip out of her room yesterday. I won't tell her you saw it if you just give it back."

"So it is him? That's my dad?"

Connor sighed. "I never met him but I drove your mom home from the airport with Giles. I heard the story. It wasn't pretty."

"He's my dad, Connor. I just want to know him."

"Tash-"

"I have his eyes," she blurted out. Everyone had told her that she was the spitting image of her mother and it was true to a degree, but for her eyes: the colour was Dawn's but the shape was all Charlie's. She'd spent an hour in the mirror yesterday checking. "Everyone says I look like mom but I have his eyes."

Connor really didn't feel comfortable discussing emotional issues with an emotional teenage girl. He had been made to fight and he did it well but put him with a teary sixteen year old girl and he was helpless. "Tash, it was hard on your mom. You'll just make it harder."

Tash's eyes flash. "Fine, have the stupid photo. I didn't want it anyway." She got up and shoved it in his chest. The usually steadfast Connor was caught off guard and stumbled, allowing Tash to slip past and down the hallway. Connor scowled and looked at the photo. Huh, she was right. She had this man's eyes.

* * *

Tash was on the roof, staring at the sky, listening to the hustle and bustle of the LA life below. She closed her eyes and tried to absorb the sun into her skin. What would England be like? She had this image of hundreds of Giles walking around, commenting about the weather. Then again, Rach's dad was from Britain and so was Uncle Spike and they weren't all stiff and upper-lippish. Looking at Wesley Wyndam-Pryce or his daughter, you wouldn't think he came from a strict, traditional Watcher family. While Wesley was still very much British, he had nothing on Giles. Likewise, in the freedom he'd given Rachael, it was obvious that stiff and upper-lippish, Wesley was not.

She heard a guitar start up and knew that Mick was in his room below. She knew that he knew that she was up here. It was made certain when he began playing the Rubber Ducky song off Sesame Street. She laughed and the music stopped. Moments later, she saw arms and a head peek over the edge of the roof before climbing up. There was a convenient ledge on Mick's balcony that, if you were tall or agile enough, gave easy access to the roof. Awesome for privacy or just enjoying nice weather when you were grounded.

"Heard the fight with your ma," Michael Harris commented, lying down next to her and flicking his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes. He really needed a cut but he insisted it was part of his bad-boy, guitarist image. She insisted that it would hurt when someone tried to rip it out one day in a drunken bar fight. He was a trouble magnet, almost more so than her. Being the son of a Slayer probably attracted trouble, even if his dad hadn't been a demon magnet.

"Who didn't?"

"I dunno but I think they're probably anticipating you in merry ole' England now."

Tash punched him, laughing. "Shut your face."

He punched her back and Tash knew he was holding back because if he'd let loose, he might have pushed her off the side of the building. Even so, it still stung a little but Mick got all antsy if it was mentioned so she didn't comment. "I'm gonna miss you, T."

"Oh, chill. You'll have Jess and Bryan."

"But I always have them. I'm sick of them. You, Rach and C are disappearing off into the wilderness without me." The joking tone couldn't hide the bitterness underneath it. Tash turned on her side to look at her best friend. He was always jealous that Tash, Rachael and Clay had been accepted into Salem Academy, the leading American wizarding school and he was stuck at the local high school. It killed him that once the school term started, he didn't see them until Christmas. It hurt even more that during the summer break, when Mick saw them most, they were leaving for eight weeks.

"I'll miss you too, Mick." She hugged him and lay her head on his shoulder. "You know you're my favourite Mick-shaped friend."

"Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to train Jessie to replace you."

"Nah, it'll never happen."

It was silent until Mick whispered, "Nah, it won't," and patted her arm.

They stayed like that until Faith came and got them. "Yo, double trouble. Dinner's ready."

"Coming, ma." Tash stopped him from getting up and kissed his cheek. He made a gagging noise and she slapped him. He threw an arm around her shoulders once they got into his room. "Love you too, T."

* * *

The next week was full of preparation: Tash, Rachael and Clay were headed to summer camp and Dawn was headed to her excavation. The Hyperion was a buzz and Tash and Rach were trying to cram Mick into every spare moment they had. They left the Hyperion when they could but when they couldn't, they hid from the adults and Jessie and Bryan.

They now only had two days and the girls were starting to freak out. Rachael pulled on one of her dreadlocks. "Do you think we could fit him in our luggage?" They looked speculatively at the bewildered Mick then shook their heads.

"He's put on too much muscle. Besides, then we wouldn't have any room for clothes." Rachael conceded the point but was frustrated. Much like Xander had been the heart of the Scoobies, so was Mick among the Scrappies.

"Guys, forget it. I don't even want to go to England and get hexed by a bunch of wand-waving pansies." At the incredulous looks of Tash and Rach, he shrugged. "Can't you just stay here?" They sighed and sat on either side of him. Tash rested her head on his shoulder and Rach threaded her arm through his.

"This isn't going to work. I'm going to end up Flooing back, I know it. It'd be so much easier if we could Apparate."

"No," Rachael said sensibly, "because they've banned it. You'd just get caught."

"And get sent home, Rach, duh," Tash pointed out.

Mick smiled sadly. They used to fights like cats when they were younger. Tash had told Rach she was a know-it-all and Tash had been too bossy. Somewhere along the lines at Salem, they teamed up and came out swinging. Literally sometimes. Tash certainly had taken after her mother in her self-defense. Hit first and curse later was Tash's motto. Only the Goddess really knew how many duels and fist-fights Tash had started while at school. Rach was slightly more level-headed but only so far in that she cursed first and asked questions later. Lots of questions. Mick didn't think it was possible to be a Wyndam-Pryce without inheriting a big brain, not to mention who her mother was. Winifred Burkle was probably the smartest person he knew, that was until Rach grew up and combined the braininess of both her parents into one giant brain.

"Mick," Tash whined. "You're not helping. Me and Rach are gonna miss you heaps and you don't even care." Mick just looked at her and grinned. "You're being a big poopyhead."

"You want a poopyhead? I'll give you a poopyhead." With inherited Slayer precision, he whipped his arm out from Rachael's and launched his attack on Tash. They both crashed to the floor of the atrium and Tash started giggling uncontrollably as Mick tickled her sides.

"Noooooo. Goddess, Mick, stop. Stop stop stop. Ah! I'm gonna pee my pants. No. I'm gonna kick your butt, Harris!"

"Not if you can't reach it, pee girl. Come on, T. Don't pee, don't pee." Rach was rolling on the previously-occupied couch, cackling at the two and it wasn't until Giles came and cleared his throat that Mick shot off Tash and pulled her up with him, the brunette gasping for breath.

Giles raised an eyebrow and they simply grinned. "Hey Grandpa G-man."

"Mick, how many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"And how many times has it not worked?" Giles was the surrogate grandfather to them all. He'd read them bedtime stories and looked after them when their parents were hurt or away. Despite Mick's obvious disregard for his name, he respected the older man a great deal, especially after all the stories of his Ripper days.

"Well, carry on, children. I just wanted to mention that Gunn and Cordelia are here." Mick grinned and went to find his uncle, his tickle attack on Tash forgotten. He was still trying to get Gunn to get him into the security business he was running. It hadn't worked so far but just because Xander had pulled Gunn aside and made him promise not until Mick had finished school. It was bad enough he was out patrolling, they didn't need to worry about him during the day as well.

Tash saw Jayden and Alonna, Gunn and Cordy's kids, take the steps two at a time to meet Jessie and Bryan. The four of them were a little too close for comfort, despite the rare occurrences that Gunn and Cordy came around when it wasn't apocalypse season. They got into enough mischief that their parents didn't miss it when they were apart.

Cordy came down and Tash and Rachael both gave her hugs and got each other caught up on gossip. The one good thing about 'Aunt' Cordelia was she was always up for a good bit of gossip. Just as they were almost done, Buffy came in and they got talking in code about things they obviously didn't want the kids knowing. Tash and Rach rolled their eyes at each other and went to find Clay.

The Scoobies had rescued Clay from a clan of demons when he was little, but had been too late to save his family. Willow had grown attached to him while they were looking for someone to care for him so by the time they had found someone, Willow changed her mind and adopted him. He was quiet but that just hid the biting wit and ferocious loyalty lurking beneath the surface. He didn't quite like the physical... altercations the other three got into but he was as much family as Mick was. That was to say, family of the heart.

* * *

The two days practically vanished and Tash was standing near the gate at the airport, teary with her arms were wrapped around Mick's neck. "I'm sorry you can't come. I'll bring you back something cool, I promise."

"It's cool, witchy girl. Go have fun." Despite his words, his arms tightened. They both knew it was only eight weeks and they'd dealt with worse every year before the three headed off to Salem but it was still hard. Mick grudgingly pried Tash's arms from around his neck and passed her on to Dawn, who was just as teary as Tash.

"I won't drop by and embarrass you but one word and I'll be there as soon as I can, all right? It'll be fine, you'll have fun."

"Please don't do anything stupid, Mom."

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" Dawn said, pulling back and wiping the tears from Tash's eyes. "Now go, you'll miss your flight otherwise." Rach and Clay, who had already said their goodbyes, were waiting behind her.

Tash nodded and kissed her mother once more on the cheek. "Talk soon."

"You betcha."

Dawn waved goodbye until she couldn't see them anymore. Faith shook her head but understood. Dawn had difficulty letting go. She didn't want to lose Tash like she had Susanna. She still cried about her other little girl but she was still strong about it. Stubborn that Tash not know about her twin in case she went chasing her, which she would, because she was just like her ma and Tuesday was only two days away.


	3. Chapter Two

_Chapter Two_

Notes: Despite that this fic was started upwards of five years ago and no one knew the name of Deathly Hallows, I integrated Bill and Fleur's kids and Teddy Lupin because they're the only thing I actually liked about the epilogue.

* * *

Charlie Weasley found his daughter curled up on his couch in their small house in Romania with Teddy Lupin and raised his eyebrow at Teddy's current head of hair: a bright blue mohawk. For a boy, he could apparently gossip very well according to Sanna. He leant on the doorway, observing. He was good at it, after all it was practically what he'd spent his life doing. Observing and caring for dragons. Now he had a different type of dragon to look after, and Merlin, was she a fiery one. Sanna noticed him first and grinned.

"Daddy." She jumped up and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her chin on his chest and looked up. "How was Uncle Bill?"

"Bill was fine, so were Fleur and the kids. Ginny and Sylvie were there when I showed up." Sanna glared at her father. "What? I didn't know they were going to be there, did I?"

"I suppose not. How were Ginny and Sylvie, then?" Sanna asked, moving back to the couch and propping her legs up onto Teddy again. Charlie settled himself into his favourite chair with a sigh. He should not feel this old.

"Gin's good but apparently Orion was disgruntled that Sebastian got accepted to Hogwarts this year and he didn't."

"He's 9, Dad. Bastian's 11."

"You try telling mini-Malfoy that. He's growing up just like his dad, that one." Sanna laughed. The infamous rivalry between the Malfoys and the Weasleys didn't last very long after Draco started 'courting' Ginny after the war. Her brothers had been less than happy about it but there wasn't much they could do. The two had fallen head over heels for each other and there wasn't a thing to stop them. Even Grandpa Arthur had folded once Draco came to him to get his permission to wed Ginny. The boys had fallen into line soon after that, especially Ron, who was obsessed with newly-born Sebastian.

"You didn't say anything about Sylvie," Sanna reminded him.

"She wants you to come over and have a tea party with her. She promises if you bring Teddy again, she won't try and put make-up on him." Teddy glared at Sanna as she giggled. Sylvana Malfoy had been quite put out with Teddy, who had come with his normal black hair but kept changing it to the wrong colour when she tried to put make-up on him. Let's just say that bright blue make-up does not go well with burgundy hair. "So are you ready to go on camp?"

"Completely. I can't wait. You, Teds?"

"Ecstatic," he said dryly. Sanna knew despite the sarcastic tone, he really was excited. They'd gone last year and had a blast.

"Oh," Sanna said, reminding herself. "Harry called in via the Floo. He wanted to ask you something about some rare fruit that Pansy's got a craving for. Apparently Ron told him you could help him out." Charlie still couldn't believe that Harry Potter, the boy-man that lived, saviour of the wizarding and muggle worlds, was married to a viper like Pansy Parkinson.

"Pansy Potter, indeed," he muttered under his breath.

"Oh, come on, Dad. You have to admit, Nessa and Toby are gorgeous." Being the eldest Weasley grandchild came with the privilege of lording it over her cousins and cooing at all the babies. Thought it didn't stop Grandma Molly from cooing over her. Surely a freshly-turned sixteen year old was not meant to be cooed over.

"I just don't know what he sees in her."

"I think it was mutual amazement that they had such fun bickering and sniping at each other." Sanna had never met a couple that argued so much. They never really meant it but it was amazing what accidentally came up at their dinner table. Charlie hadn't accepted an invitation since he spit his wine all over Harry when Pansy sniped about his habits in the bedroom.

Sanna's giggling was interrupted when there was a call from the kitchen. "Charlie? Sanna? Teddy?"

"Ah, mum's here," Teddy sighed. Sanna nudged him with her toe as Charlie hauled himself from his chair to go meet Tonks.

"Be nice to your mother."

"I love my mother, but I'm devastated at being denied your company."

"Oh, save your charms for Victoire." Teddy spluttered and glared at her. Victoire, Bill and Fleur's oldest daughter, was two years younger than them and inherited more than just a little of Fleur's veela beauty. Sanna had demanded that Teddy had dibs on her, even if he denied all interest.

"Wotcher Sanna."

"Hi Dora." Sanna refused to call Teddy's mum Tonks because she was technically a Lupin and it was just weird. Today she had her natural black curls on and her big blue Black eyes. Sanna knew Uncle Remus loved it when Dora didn't Transfigure herself into someone else. It must be a stay at home day, then, because usually Tonks matched her hair to her wardrobe and she was wearing her new Weird Sisters tee that Charlie had gotten her last Christmas, ripped jeans and Hufflepuff house slippers.

"Been looking after my Teddy?"

"Of course. He's a sweetie, really." Dora laughed and barely avoided knocking over a photo frame as they made their way back to the fire in the kitchen.

"Well, come on, Ted. Let's get moving."

"See you Monday, Sanna."

"Bye Teddy." Charlie slung an arm around Sanna as they waved goodbye as the fire turned green around Dora and then Teddy. The two Romanian Weasleys stood in the quiet for a moment, their thoughts both on other things.

* * *

Monday rolled around soon enough and Sanna found herself dashing frantically around their small home, looking for things she'd meant to have packed two days ago. "Dad, have you seen my hiking boots?"

Charlie sat serenely at the kitchen table, reading the Daily Prophet. "They're on the back verandah." It had been like this for half an hour, Sanna running in and out of rooms. It was even funnier when she forgot why she was there and had to come running back in moments after she'd left. It was like she was moving out of home, not going away to summer camp. "Sanna, love, come here for a sec."

Sanna stood in the doorway bouncing on her toes, eager to get the chat over with so she could finish packing. She had to leave in an hour and she still hadn't showered. "Yes?"

"It's summer camp. If you forget anything, owl or Floo and I'll come and drop it off. It's not the saga you make it out to be."

"Is that it?"

"Nope. You know the rules. No boys. No hexes or curses. Did I mention no boys?" Sanna stopped her bouncing long enough to kiss her father on the cheek.

"I think you did. It'll be fine, dad. Trust me." Charlie was looking rather put out. "Oh, come on. It's not like I didn't go last year. It'll be exactly the same. I promise I'll bring myself back with all limbs attached."

"Aunt Gin could probably fix you up before smacking you one if you didn't."

"The pregnant lady wouldn't hit me. I'm her number one babysitter, remember?" Charlie laughed and shooed her away to continue packing. He sat contentedly, pretending to read the Daily Prophet while worrying about what mischief she'd get up to. She said she wouldn't but she was a Weasley. She'd find it eventually. It was just a matter of when.

The next hour passed quickly for both of the Weasleys and they found themselves Flooing to the Lupins to pick up Teddy. Dora laughed at Sanna's harried look and took a moment to pull her aside and calm her down, flattening her hair and sweeping at the soot from the fireplace. The Portkey was sitting on the table, a smoothed pebble which would take them to the camp.

When they rejoined the group, Charlie was warning Teddy. "Remember, no boys for her. You still have that Beater's club?"

"Never leave home without it," Teddy grinned perversely.

"Good," Charlie muttered. "Good." Sanna punched him. "Ow, what was that for?"

"I will be fine. Stop mothering me."

"But if I don't do it, you'll blame me later for not warning you." Sanna stuck her tongue out at him and he gently cuffed her on the back of the head. "I'm serious, Sanna. Be careful and, for Merlin's sake, if you get caught dueling again, you won't know what hit you."

Sanna hid a smirk behind her hand. She'd been caught dueling at Hogwarts several times to her father's dismay and Remus' because he was always the one that caught her. She straightened her face and reassured him. "Now I'm serious. I'm not going to another planet, I'll be an owl away so just calm down. I swear you weren't this jumpy last year."

Charlie kissed her forehead and ruffled her head. "Brat."

"Woman."

Teddy nudged her and offered up the cloth with the pebble on it. Sanna linked arms with him and waved a final time to her father before touching her finger to the stone and being whirled away.


	4. Chapter Three

_Chapter Three_

Tash grumbled as she fell backwards onto her bed, hiding her face under a pillow. This was a nightmare. They had barely been here for a week. How had she managed to make an enemy already? That stupid Weasley girl would just not leave her alone. Tash swore that if she flirted with Clay one more time, she was dead. Gone. Six feet under. Permanently sleeping. She growled and glared when an airheaded blonde who shared their cabin giggled. The girl shut up but was looking smug still. Everyone had heard about the two clashing, and if it didn't make things worse, she looked exactly like her. They had the same colour hair and their faces had the same structure and Tash couldn't look at her for very long enough without feeling sick but she was going to bet they had the same eyes as well.

She felt the bed dip and a hand patted her shoulder. She peeked out behind her pillow to see Clay smiling sympathetically. "How're you coping?"

"Shit. How do you not get angry?"

"Practice. I don't need to repeat Mom's mistakes." Clay happened to be a damn powerful wizard, not quite on par with Willow but he'd proven once before that he could do quite a bit of damage when he didn't keep check of his power.

Tash threw her pillow at the wall and was dissatisfied at the soft landing. She was restless and she wanted to hit something but if she did, one of those counsellors who always were in the wrong place at the wrong time would catch her and probably lock her up for damaging private property. She'd already been chastised just for holding her wand. Sure, she'd been seriously contemplating hexing someone but she wouldn't have actually done it. Both her and the Weasley girl had gotten a stern talking to for yelling at each other at the bonfire the night before.

Tash and Clay both jumped when Rachael slammed into the room, the door banging on the wall and bouncing off it. The airheaded blonde who'd been eavesdropping scurried from the room at one look at the dreadlocked girl's glare.

"Rach, what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong," she hissed, her British accent adding venom to the words. "That asshat Weasley girl just threw spiders at me. Do you know what's worse than throwing spiders at an arachnophobe? Throwing spiders at an arachnophobe with bloody dreads!" Rachael was livid, her chest heaving up and down and Tash recognised that look. That look was the one that Rachael wore before she made something blow up.

"Rach, hun, you've got to calm down. You have to chill. Breathe. Please. I'm in enough trouble as it is, they're going to blame me if something catches on fire." Rachael sat down on her bed, breathing heavily and not looking at anyone, just burning a hole in the floor with her mind. Tash was just thankful that it wasn't in a literal sense.

Not that Tash was anymore level-headed. Weasley threw spiders at her best friend? Oh, she was going down. She didn't care if she got sent home, no one messed with a Scrappy and got away with it.

"Come on, Clay."

"Oh no, Tash. I'm not going to be a part of your little games." At Tash's incredulous look, he expanded. "No, I'm not fine with what they did to Rach. They will pay but you're going to end up hitting someone and getting sent home and imagine what your mom will be like. Aunt Buffy will kick your arse, and you know the lecture you'll get from Giles. It's not worth it. We'll leave it until tonight when we're all a bit more levelheaded, all right?"

Tash glared at the door. She wanted revenge. She was sick of that girl strutting around camp and messing up Tash's summer. She really wanted to hit something. Hard. "I'm going to go hit something." Clay opened his mouth but Tash waved him off. "A tree or a wall or something. I won't touch her, yet."

Rach was still breathing on the bed when Tash stalked out and Clay went and sat with her, knowing now that the anger was gone and she was left feeling scared. He held out his hand and she took it, squeezing it in gratitude.

* * *

Sanna smiled as she saw her impostor walking across the camp, looking murderous. Their eyes met and Sanna waved. Tash flipped her the bird and headed into the trees. Teddy sat behind her, whittling away at something. She didn't know what it was but that didn't matter. That annoying Summers bint was angry and that made Sanna happy.

"I don't get you, Sanna. You're usually not this vindictive. What's up?"

"She has my face, Teddy. What did you expect me to do?"

"Well it's not like she did it on purpose. You didn't have to throw a spider at the Wyndam-Price chit either."

"It wasn't a real spider. It was just an illusion. Did you see the look on her face?"

The look on Teddy's said he had and he wasn't amused.

"Oh, come on, Teds. It's just a bit of fun. No one's been hurt."

"Yet. I know you're related to Fred and George but that doesn't mean you need to act like it. I think you should just give it up. It's going to escalate and someone's going to get hexed. Don't you get into enough duels at Hogwarts?"

"Nope."

"Obviously not."

"Hey Lupin, Sanna!" The duo looked up and Sanna broke into a grin.

"Lachie!" Lachlan Wood laughed as he caught Sanna around the waist and spun her around. He set her down on the ground grinning.

"How's my favourite Weasley?"

"At war, actually. There's a girl with my face running around camp." Lachlan blinked.

"For real?"

"Yeah. It's insane."

"Lachie," Teddy said, nodding.

"Teddy," Lachlan nodded back. Sanna rolled her eyes at the guy thing.

"You're both weird. So how do you feel about helping me out with a bit of pranking, Lachie? Teddy's too chicken."

"I believe the term is smart, Sanna." Sanna stuck her tongue out and sneaked a peek towards the direction where the Summers bint had hidden herself in the trees. Teddy saw the look in her eyes and shook his head. "No. No way. You're barmy. Don't you dare."

"I won't do anything to her. The spider charm on the non-Brit chit was damage enough for today."

Teddy just stared at her.

"What?"

"You actually are barmy. You've walked into too many walls. Charlie dropped you one too many times as a baby. What is it with you and that girl?"

Sanna shrugged uncomfortably. There was something about Summers that made her itch and gave her goosebumps. "Well, I'm going. If I don't come back, avenge my death."

Teddy simply turned, sat back down and resumed his whittling. Lachie looked between the two.

Sanna patted his shoulder. "Talk later, Lachie."

"Do you need back-up?"

Sanna turned, walking backwards. "Back-up? For this? Nah, I'm fine, thanks. Ask Teddy what he'd fiddling with for me, would you?"

* * *

Tash kept walking, fuming at the nerve of that girl. She growled a few choice words that would get her a grounding from her mother and continued on the path, not paying attention to where she was going. She eventually found a large tree and found an alternative to hitting things. There weren't very many trees around the Hyperion and she didn't have much experience in climbing them but that was the brilliant part. A challenge would keep her mind off the little face-stealer back at the camp.

She had to jump to make it to the first branch, which wouldn't have been possible if she'd been a few inches shorter. She pulled herself up with effort and grinned savagely at the stretch of her muscles. She would probably be sore tomorrow but that was better than getting into a fistfight with someone, at least from her mother's point of view.

She was about ten feet off the ground when Sanna found her. The English girl cleared her throat rather loudly, in such a fashion that it was clear it had been purely intentional.

Tash ignored the person on the ground who was clearing their throat and kept going. She wasn't tired enough to talk to someone without getting angry, even if it was a camp counsellor.

Sanna narrowed her eyes and nodded. Right then. She found the lowest branch, the one that Tash had jumped to and followed the American's path, wishing she'd just brought her broom.

Tash stopped climbing a few branches up when she felt like she could talk to someone without jumping down her throat. She sat on a sturdy branch and looked down to see who was crazy enough to follow her up here. The answer made her glare at the top of the girl's head.

"You may as well stop and climb back down now," Tash called down. "Especially if you don't want me to kick you out of this damn tree." Sanna did stop but only to peer up at her.

"I came here to talk. No hexing or kicking, if you don't mind."

"I can't promise you anything. You threw spiders at my best friend."

"Oh please," Sanna grunted. "It was one spider and it wasn't even real. It was a charm."

"It doesn't matter. She's an arachnophobe with dreadlocks."

Sanna felt a twinge of guilt but was determined. She kept climbing. Bloody American, why did she have to climb a tree, of all things? Couldn't she just go for a run like a normal person? "Well, tell her I'm sorry for that. If I'd known, I wouldn't have done it."

"But you did, and you've been torturing us all week."

"You've been torturing us back, I might add." Sanna managed to pull herself up onto a branch lower down and as close to the opposite side of the tree without being hidden from sight. She held up her hands. "Look, no wand." Tash was still glaring. "Oh, for... look, I came here to apologise."

"You'll forgive me if I don't believe you. You know, I've been trying to keep out of trouble this break. My mom will kill me if she finds out that I've been in a feud with some random English girl who stole my face."

Sanna held up a hand. "One of those bloody counsellors is sure to tell my dad and I'm going to get grounded until Hogwarts. Besides, I believe you're the one that stole my face. I had it first."

Tash snorted. "Oh really? When's your birthday? I bet I'm older."

"June 18th."

Tash yelped and almost fell backwards out of the tree. The only thing that saved her was the arm wrapped around the trunk.

"Bloody hell, what did you do that for?"

"Are you sixteen?"

"Yes." Tash's eyes widened then narrowed to a glare. "What's the matter?"

"She wouldn't."

"Who wouldn't? Would you mind letting me on in your secret?" Sanna asked, annoyed at being out of the crazy girl's thought process. She moved up to a closer branch now that it didn't look like Summers wasn't going to kick her out of the tree.

"My birthday's on the 18th of June and I turned sixteen this year." Sanna's eyes bugged out of her head and her jaw dropped to her chest.

"No way."

"Yes way." Tash dived into her back pocket and prayed she hadn't lost it. She'd stolen the photo back from Connor just before they'd left for the airport. Like hell she was going to give up the only thing she had of her father.

"What are you doing?"

Tash handed her the photo. "Do you know this man?"

Sanna frowned. "I'd bloody well hope so. What are you doing with a photo of my father?"

"That's my mother, pregnant with me." Tash hesitated and continued, bulldozing on. "Pregnant with us, I'd bet." Sanna couldn't stop staring at the photo. She'd always been told she'd had her father's eyes but the colour was different. The colour was this woman's she'd bet. She was trying to figure out why the brunette looked so familiar.

"I know this woman!" Sanna's proclamation almost sent Tash out of the tree again.

"What? Where?"

Sanna was tapping the photo, positive of it now. "I saw a photo of her once at the Burrow." At Tash's confused look, she elaborated. "The Burrow is where my... our grandparents live. It's the central hub for the Weasleys. Grandma Molly was cleaning and she pulled this photo out of practically nowhere. Not this exact photo but it was still of dad and this woman. All Grandma would say was she was an old friend of my father's. Merlin, I'm thick."

At Tash's silence, Sanna looked up curiously and was startled when she saw Summers staring at her. Tash was examining the girl who could possibly be her sister, her twin, to see the similarities when before all she'd seen was the differences. They had the same build, the same facial structure, the same eyes for crying out loud. Sanna was missing the small scar just above her right eyebrow that Tash had received when she'd been kidnapped by a Fyarl demon but Sanna had a small mole on her left temple close to her hairline that was missing on Tash.

"This is an 8 on the wiggins scale."

Sanna frowned. "Wiggins scale? Speak English, woman."

"This is really weird. Not the weirdest, but up there. 8 out of 10 on the weird scale."

"You have a weird scale?"

"Oh, the Scoobies have plenty more than a weird scale?"

"Scoobies?"

"It's mom's generation of the LA based Watcher's Council."

Sanna looked interested. "Your... our mum's on the Watcher's Council?"

Tash laughed and waved it off when Sanna looked offended. "It's more than mom. Aunt Buffy's the oldest living Slayer and Grampa Giles is her Watcher. They infiltrated it and rebuilt it when Senor Sucks-a-lot had a heart attack."

"Senor... what?"

"Quentin Travers, a.k.a Senor Sucks-a-lot, was the old Head of the Watcher's Council. After he kicked the bucket, they approached Giles and he accepted. The Watcher's Council 2.0 as mom calls it. Her and Uncle Xander are technically Watchers but Dawn's Aunt Faith's Watcher because it would be a conflict of interest to have Xander out in the field with her. He takes care of Buffy, though."

Something clicked for Sanna, Tash could see it on her face. "Wait, Buffy? As in Buffy Summers, the Slayer?"

"Don't you listen? Yes, Buffy, my aunt Buffy, my only living blood relation..." Tash got a funny look on her face. "I guess that isn't true anymore. Gah!" She punched the tree and yelped, shaking her hand when the trunk jarred it. Tash glared at the bark like it was its fault her hand hurt. She didn't seem to notice the blood on her knuckles but Sanna couldn't help but stare at the random act of violence.

"What did you do that for?"

"It's so I won't hit my mom when I see her. Goddess, I can't believe she didn't tell me. What was going through her head? I mean, I have a sister. A twin! What, did she think she could keep it from me my entire life?"

Sanna was silent during Tash's rant but told her quietly, "They almost succeeded."

"But you're English. You'd think she'd want to keep me as far away from England as possible."

"But really, what are the chances? And I don't even live in England. I live in Romania with dad. I mean, he's retired but he likes to keep close to the reserve incase they need a hand."

"Reserve?"

Sanna smirked. "Our dad's a dragon tamer."

Tash gasped and clapped her hands together like it was Christmas and she got her first crossbow all over again. "You're shitting me. Real dragons? I've never seen one. Are they cool? Are they all angry or are they really like cats?"

Sanna laughed at Tash's enthusiasm. "They only get angry if someone threatens their nest, at least that's what dad tells me. And yeah, they act like they own you and they're only letting you put them in the reserve... which is kinda true actually. If they didn't want to be there, they wouldn't."

"What's dad like?" Tash looked at Sanna seriously, all laughter gone from her face.

Sanna returned it. "He's great, wonderful. Best dad you can hope for. He's my friend but he doesn't try to be cool. He just is and he trusts me and it's sort of nice, just the two of us in our little house. What's mum like?"

Tash smiled. "She's awesome. Really awesome. She acts like a brat sometimes, I guess that's where I get it from but she's there for you when you need her. She's in Scotland right now at an excavation. She loves the research and she can learn any language you throw at her."

"What's it like growing up with the Slayer?"

Tash groaned. "Aunt Buffy, while cool, tries to mother both mom and me. I mean, I get why she tries to go all mother hen on mom, she's been looking after her since mom was fourteen but come on, it's been like twenty years. Aunt Buffy has trouble letting go sometimes, but I guess that's why she's the longest living Slayer. She just doesn't give up."

Determination flared in Sanna's eyes. "Neither will we."

"OK, now you're the one who isn't talking English."

"They probably thought they could split us up for our own good or whatever rubbish reason they came up with for being selfish. We're going to find out why."

Tash was skeptical. "I don't know about you but Romania isn't my regular vacation spot. What's to stop them from keeping us apart?"

"I hadn't gotten to that part yet," Sanna said indignantly. "If you're so brilliant, why don't you come up with something?" The light that erupted in Tash's eye made Sanna regret the challenge. "Oh no, what've you thought of?"

"We swap."

"What?! Teddy thought I was barmy but you're completely bonkers."

"No, no, hear me out. I go to Romania with dad, you go back to LA with mom. We scope it out and then bam, we switch back with material to use against the other and with a couple of subtle hints, we can get them back together."

Silence was all that met Tash's idea. Sanna just stared, didn't open her mouth, didn't say a word, just stared at Tash. The Californian crossed her arms and glared at Sanna.

"What?"

"It's so crazy, it might just work. You'd do well to meet Fred and George."

"Who're they?"

"My twin uncles. They were the biggest troublemakers at Hogwarts since Teddy's dad and his friends."

"Sweet. So deal? I won't back out if you won't."

Tash held out her hand and Sanna took it firmly in her own.

"Deal."


	5. Chapter Four

_Chapter Four_

_Notes_: I am desperately looking for a beta. Desperately. Please, please, please, if you think you can help, send me a message on my profile.

* * *

Dawn was hiding in her room. She was sitting on the closed toilet seat, as far away from the door as possible in an attempt to claim ignorance if anyone came knocking on the door. Anyone being Ian. Goddess, Tash had been right. She'd thought her daughter was just being mean but after Ian's invitation out to dinner tomorrow evening, which Dawn not so gracefully turned down, it was clear that he had very un-platonic feelings if the hand he had on the small of her back was any indication.

She was just as angry at herself as she was annoyed at Ian for making things awkward. Why did things have to change? Things had been good. They'd worked well together but Dawn wasn't sure that could go on much longer. Possibly. Maybe. Probably. She scolded herself for not seeing the signs. "Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She dragged her fingers through her hair restlessly. She needed Tash to bounce ideas off. No matter how much sarcasm spewed from her mouth, her daughter tended to have good ideas. Or bad ideas with good intentions. Or mischievous ideas with semi-good intentions. Dawn could almost hear her in her head.

_"Mom, get it together. Just go out there and act like nothing happens. If he tries anything, just sock him one like Aunt Faith taught you."_ Yes, because Buffy was too scared to rough up her baby sister to teach her self-defense. Big sister had admitted it and gave her permission to go to Faith. Dawn almost laughed at that. Like she needed permission. Her sister was still acting like she was the one in charge. Dawn was in charge of herself, thank you very much.

A knock on her door made her whimper. He'd found her. Oh no, oh no, oh no.

"Who is it?" Dawn cursed herself for the squeaky tone to her voice. She'd faced down Hell Goddesses with more guts than this. What happened in the twenty one years since Glory? She thought she saw her spine slithering away under the bed.

"Dawn? It's me." Dawn frowned. The voice, while Scottish, was not Ian's but familiar at the same time. Curiousity got the best of her and she abandoned her hiding place to peek through the eyehole the hotel had generously granted her. It was less help than she liked; it was like looking through a fishbowl.

"Well, as glad as I am to see you, it'd be nice to have a name."

"Surely I haven't grown that old. Don't you know an old Keeper when you see one?"

Dawn gasped and threw open the door only to be swept up and spun around. The burly man spun her in circles and placed her gently on the floor, grinning all the while.

"Dawnie," Oliver Wood said in that delicious brogue of his.

"Ollie! Oh my Goddess, how did you know I was here? It's been ages. Wow, you still haven't lost any of that muscle, have you?" Dawn squeezed his bicep experimentally and grinned. "Nope, still the manly man I knew and loved. What have you been doing with yourself? Oh, it's so good to see you." Dawn hugged the first real reminder of England in sometime.

Oliver laughed. "One question at a time, woman. I live nearby and I came to check out the excavation on a favour to Percy. You know how Muggles are. I heard your name bantered about and decided to drop in."

"Percy?" Dawn gaped. "Charlie's brother, Percy?" The last she'd heard Percy had been a 'right tosser' and not really in the good books of anyone outside of his boss.

"He'd mellowed out quite a bit before Penelope..." Oliver trailed off uncomfortably.

"Penelope? Fiancee Penelope? Ollie, what happened?"

"She got sick, Dawnie. She wasted away in front of his eyes for years. She just gave up when Lucy would've been, oh, six or so. Pippa was only just eight."

Dawn felt badly for Percy. Him and Penelope had been off and on for years since Hogwarts and she'd been proud of him when he'd gathered up the courage to finally propose. It had been a long engagement but that was generally because they could never decide on plans for the wedding. Penny had been the only one to bring out the fire in old Perce.

"They had kids?"

"Two girls, Phillipa and Lucy."

Dawn smiled sadly. "Poor Perce."

"He's all right. He's not quite the same but no one's really complaining." Dawn smiled genuinely. She didn't think anyone would miss the old Percy. "You know, no one ever really explained to me what happened between you and Charlie-boy. One day you two were happily living in the UK and the next you went off back to the US and he left for Romania."

Dawn shook her head. "I don't think even we knew. I think it just built and built and exploded and we went our separate ways. They almost took Tash from me. Charlie wanted to give me both girls but they wouldn't let him. Choosing which girl to take and which one to leave was the hardest thing I've ever done."

Oliver pulled her back into a hug which Dawn reciprocated gratefully. "It's all right. I'm sure you've done a bang-up job. You'd be proud of Sanna. She's just like her mum. All fiery and full of words."

"Thank you, Ollie. Anyway, enough of that. You still haven't told me what you've done with yourself all these years."

Oliver just grinned. "You mean you haven't been keeping up to date with Quidditch?"

Dawn looked ashamed. "Not in England. I've followed little bits through Tash, whose a massive Fitchburg Finches fan by the way, but never really got into it. You know I'm not that great on a broom. I have a recollection of you trying to teach me. I almost fell twenty feet before you caught me."

"Well, you could say I've been doing a bit more catching since then. I was playing Keeper for the Montrose Magpies after Puddlemere chose a first year reserve for Keeper instead of me. Now I'm the coach."

"The Magpies? Oh Ollie, you chose my favourite team. It's Puddlemere's loss. Though I always did like The Prides' colours."

"Purple and yellow? Really? Dawnie, I expected better from you." Dawn playfully stuck her tongue out. Oliver made a grab for her and Dawn squealed and ran, Oliver giving chase. It went on for quite a while, Dawn jumping over her bed and scrambling all around the place. It wasn't a big room but she'd managed to stay away from Oliver's grasping hands. They forgot that they were both supposed to be mature adults, much too old for running around but neither could find it within themselves to care.

That is until another Scottish voice came uncertainly from the door. "Dawn?"

She stopped dead in her tracks, causing Oliver to bowl into her and send them sprawling to the floor. From under Oliver, Dawn poked her head out and smiled cheerily up at Ian Deargal, the very man she'd been avoiding for the last three hours. "Hi Ian. What's up?"

"I heard you squealing. I came to see if you were all right." Ian seemed unsure what to make of the situation. He looked to be somewhere between surprise, outrage and disappointment. She was sure the outrage was for her being caught in a compromising position but she didn't care. Oliver looked up and nodded jollily at Ian.

"Hello there. Suppose you wouldn't want to help a fellow up, would you?" Ian's good manners kicked in and pulled Oliver off Dawn as quickly as he could, taking his time in helping Dawn to her feet. Oliver saw the distress in Dawn's eyes and stepped in. "Sorry to interrupt but Dawn and me were just going out to grab a bit of dinner. I'm sure you can spare her for a few hours."

Ian's eyes flickered between them and Dawn felt a little bad for him. It wasn't his fault that he was completely not her type. "Sorry to spring this on you, Ian. We can reschedule if you want. I know you were hoping to go over those translations with me."

"No, no," Ian waved his hand, a small smile diminishing the sad look on his face. "You go on ahead. There's plenty of hours in the day tomorrow. The dig isn't going anywhere. Have a nice night."

Dawn smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you." He just smiled and left, leaving Dawn feeling more than a little guilty.

"So, where are we going?" She asked cheerily to try and shake off the pangs of her conscience.

Oliver sighed over exaggeratedly and said, "Oh, I suppose I actually have to take you out now. Well, grab your bag and let's go."

"But-" Dawn began to protest.

"I'll wait downstairs, then shall I?" Dawn grinned and pushed him out the door.

"Give me ten minutes."

"I'll just go grab a coffee. You can find me."

* * *

It was quiet at the Eyrie, as Sanna called their little house, without the teenager to liven the place up. Charlie was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and desperately trying to go to sleep. It was hard not having her around. He didn't think he would've stayed sane without her all these years by himself. His little dragon, the highest point in his entire life. Almost on par with... he rolled on his side, trying to shake the thoughts from his head. Now was not the time to dwell on the past. He was alone without anything to distract him. It wouldn't do to have his thoughts stuck on Dawn Weas... Summers. She was Summers.

He growled and ran his hands through his hair. It had gotten easier as the years passed but she certainly was unforgettable, that one. Fiery as all hell and legs that went on forever... he threw himself bodily out of bed, coming to his feet and padded towards the bathroom, hitching up his pyjama pants. He stared in the mirror and was shocked to see the unkempt creature that stared back. Stubble which was at least three days old, red eyes and he was fairly sure he smelt like a pile of dragon dung. If glares could kill, he'd have committed suicide through self-disgust. It was almost pathetic.

Charlie tore himself away, muttering with frustration. He stalked towards the kitchen and ransacked the bookshelf, looking for the secret catch. He knew Sanna had found it years ago, the entire reason he'd installed it in the first place but it was habit. Besides, he didn't think she knew that he knew. That statement was a little confusing and he was glad when his fingers caught the latch and he pushed a couple of dragon reference books aside to reach behind the bookcase and pull out an old bottle of Ogden's Best Firewhiskey. He cracked the seal and threw back a mouthful, swearing as it burnt down his throat.

"Drinking alone? That's a bit sad, little brother." Charlie laughed, amazed he hadn't heard the Floo. Bill reached around and took a swig of the bottle, mimicking Charlie's swear from moments before.

"Shouldn't you be with Fleur and the kids?"

"Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Fair call." Charlie took another swallow, slower this time but no less potent.

"I'd almost forgotten about last year. Just be glad I remembered today and not next week. I'd prefer if my brother wasn't passed out starkers on his kitchen table when I bring Victoire over to borrow some of Sanna's clothes again." Charlie flipped his brother the bird and sat down heavily at the previously mentioned table.

"Come on, let's finish what we started. Let's get soused off our faces like we used to before we got ourselves into this whole domestic rut."

Bill laughed and Accio'ed two glasses from the kitchen. "To the women. You can't live with them and you can't live without them," he poured and then held the glass up to Charlie for a toast.

Charlie smirked, and clinked his glass against his brother's. "To our girls. Merlin hope they stay ours for a little while longer."

The fire flared green and, unbeknownst to them, two men stepped out, amused at the scene. Harry and Ron looked at each other before sitting down on either side of the pair, Ron pulling another bottle out of his cloak. "Getting shit-faced without your little Sanna, I see."

"I'm surprised Hermione and Pansy let you two off your leashes. Do they have whistles only you can hear too?" Charlie mocked.

"Hey now," Ron said. "If you don't want my Firewhiskey, we'll just go find somewhere else to drink." He went to stand but Charlie waved him back down.

"Don't be daft, Ronald." Charlie's world was already spinning and he realised that in between the dialogue, he'd already finished three shots and started in on his fourth, on top of all the informal swigging before Bill had the manners to get glasses. "Your alcohol is always welcome here."

Harry laughed and Accio'ed two more glasses from the kitchen. He poured and tilted his glass in the direction of the other men. The four of them threw back their shots and shuddered, Charlie and Bill less so, the effect almost completely nullified by the Firewhiskey they'd already had.

The two bottles didn't last very long, but then again, neither did the four of them. Nor did the old bottle of wine Charlie found... or the two bottles of Muggle bourbon that one of them had managed to acquire.

Ginny found them all the next morning, passed out on the various surfaces that Charlie's house provided. At some point during the night, the couch had been moved from the living room to the middle of the kitchen and Harry, Charlie and Bill were currently all snuggled up on it while Ron was sprawled across the kitchen table, mirroring Charlie a year ago. She stood, surveying the disaster scene, hands perched imperiously on her hips. The smirk on her lips was completely unexpected and if Ron had been conscious, he would have commented on how much more like a Malfoy she'd become.

She went to rummage through Charlie's room and managed to find a camera Sanna had given him last year at Christmas that he'd never used. She snapped a few photos for future blackmail purposes, shrunk the camera and went about waking them up, Weasley style.

The men never knew what hit them.

* * *

Charlie rested his head softly on the now Scourgified table, after shooing a still slightly tipsy Ron and Bill off through the Floo. He'd double-checked that they'd made it home in one piece and proceeded to start the process of self-pity that came with a hangover. He chuckled at the memory of Harry once Ginny had been done waking them up. The famous wizard blinked, took a second to register the youngest Weasley-now-Malfoy and blanched. Ginny had taken pity on him and Side-Apparated him home to face Pansy. Who would have thought that the man who had successfully vapourised Voldemort would pale at the thought of an angry wife? Granted, Pansy Potter was a bit of a pit viper and pregnant on top of it.

After a moment of blissful silence, Charlie hauled himself up and began disposing of the evidence of last night, throwing out the empty bottles and returning the couch to its rightful place in the living room after using several cleaning charms on it just in case. He put the glasses in the sink to clean later, grabbing a Hangover Potion and disappeared to have a shower and shave. Time to start another day without Sanna.

His eyes narrowed as he thought. He was sick of feeling sorry for himself. It was time to do something about it.


	6. Chapter Five

_Chapter Five_

There was silence in the cabin after Tash and Sanna had finished explaining their plan to their friends. Clay and Rachael sat on Rach's bed while Lachie and Teddy were leaning against the only bunk bed in the room. Both groups were staring in amazement at their respective twin. Tash and Sanna glanced at each other and decided this wasn't the reception they'd wanted to greet the announcement.

The twins had decided to let their friends in on the secret because without their help, the likelihood of success fell dramatically. Besides, if something happened and they were stuck, they'd need back up. Tash wanted to tell Mick but Sanna refused. Two people were enough, they didn't need to worry about a third.

"Tash..." Clay started.

"You know we love you, right? With that said, you're nuts," Rachael put it bluntly.

Tash blinked and shrugged. "What would you do if your mom and dad hid a sister from you? A twin sister?"

"I'd bloody well give them a piece of my mind. This is too sneaky. One of us will slip up and then where does that leave us?"

"Up shit creek without a paddle," Clay provided.

"Not to pick sides," Teddy interjected before either of the Scrappies could speak up again, "but they have a point, Sanna. Someone's going to see through it and your dad will ground you until you finish Hogwarts."

Lachie could only stare at the two of them standing side by side. The others in the room had had their fair share of the weird but poor Lachie was only the son of a professional Keeper, he wasn't up to dealing with weird. Tash noticed and raised an eyebrow. "Do you have something to say?" All eyes turned to Lachie and he could only blink. "Well?"

"You're the same." Tash and Sanna rolled their eyes and that only made Lachie all the more amazed. "Everything. The little things. You both roll your eyes and you get this snarky look on your face, that's the one!" The twins looked at each other and blinked then giggled. "Blimey."

"Now that we've gotten past the whole long lost twin thing," Sanna started, "Can we get to the part where we figure out how to get past the problems, instead of just bringing them up?"

"Well, where do you start?" Teddy snarked back. "First off, there's the accent."

"I can fix that," Clay volunteered. Rachael hit him for encouraging them but Clay felt it was justified when he saw his pseudo-sister beam at him. This was important to Tash and if they were stubborn enough to go through with it, then he was going to do as much as he could to make sure they wouldn't be caught.

Teddy had yet to give up. "What about the hair?" Tash eyed Sanna's hair and vice versa. Tash's grazed her shoulders while Sanna's was longer, almost down to her waist. Sanna had always wondered what if would look like if she cut her hair and now she knew: cute.

"You any good with a pair of scissors?" Sanna asked Tash and Tash just grinned.

"Good enough."

"Problem solved," Sanna declared. "Tash can just tell Dad that she cut her hair."

Rachael gave in with a sigh. "You could use a growing charm. A Bryant girl did it wrong last year and she had to go to the Hospital Wing with seven feet of hair trailing behind her." Clay and Tash made a grossed-out face but Sanna, Teddy and Lachie looked at each other in confusion.

"Bryant?" Sanna asked Tash.

"Bryant is one of our Houses. Rach and I are in Martinez, Clay's in Russell and the other two are Cooper and Sanders."

"Huh. Five houses."

"What's that supposed to mean? Just because you've got that crazy four house thing going on." Tash stuck her tongue out and Teddy was struck by just how similar the two were without them knowing it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Tash said, opening her arms wide to the room. "Mission Weasley-Summers is a go."

* * *

It had been three weeks since Tash and Sanna had discovered the truth and they were well on their way to bringing their little scheme into fruition. They'd barely left each other's sides since, learning all there was to know about each other. Sanna snuck into Tash's cabin every night when Tash wasn't sneaking into hers and they'd lie there, talking to each other. Tash told Sanna about the Scoobies and the Watcher's Council and most of all about Dawn. Likewise, Sanna whispered about the Weasleys and everyone she could think of. She mentioned Charlie as often as possible. They talked about anything and everything whether it was relevant or not.

Of course this resulted in little sleep which made their daytime operations a little difficult. Luckily, their friends already knew that their friends were not morning people and that they should make as little contact as possible during the earlier hours. The councillors, however, were stumped as to how these two hellcats were suddenly extremely chummy and were whispering conspiratorially to each other over the weekly bonfire.

Clay spent most of his free time trying to perfect the accent problem when he wasn't constantly getting dragged away to do camp activities by the councillors. Hiking wasn't really high on his agenda, not when it competed against helping Tash and Sanna with their plan.

Rach and Teddy spent most of their time criticising the twins in their attempts to act like each other. Tash couldn't mimic Sanna's walk and Sanna kept blushing whenever Clay hugged her. The brains of the group were severely unimpressed with the efforts so far and were well aware that they only had another three weeks to perfect everything before it was put to the test in front of the people that knew them best. Sanna was just thankful that Charlie had agreed to let her stay at the Burrow for the rest of the summer. That way, it would be a lot easier for Tash to avoid him if necessary.

The twins were slowly growing to realise how hard this was going to be. With the exceptions of their friends here, they weren't going to know anyone on top of having to fool everyone into thinking they were someone they weren't. Luckily for them, their friends were pretty spectacular.

Another two weeks passed and the twins had swapped wardrobes to start getting used to it. Sanna couldn't imagine why Tash would need so many skirts but Tash was loving Sanna's favourite leather jacket.

"It's dragon leather, the best you can get. Dad got it for me from the Institute. Some of the dragons agree to let the tamers harvest their skin when they die so it's ethical and it looks awesome," Sanna informed her awestruck sister.

"When this is all over," Tash said, inspecting the jacket very closely, "we are getting me one of these. Like, the moment after mom and dad are holding hands." Sanna just laughed and tried to make sure the skirt stayed where it was supposed to.

Clay had finished prototypes for the accent charms and they tested them out on the councillors throughout the week. The start of their last week rolled around quicker than anyone expected and everyone was starting to get antsy.

Tash paced Sanna and Teddy's cabin restlessly before the camp's morning pow-wow, the rest of their little group watching as she stomped from one end of the room to the other over and over again. Rachael was the one to finally break the tense silence.

"Bloody hell, Tash. What is it?"

"I'm not ready. We're not ready. This isn't going to work. Dad's going to see straight through me and he's going to Floo me back home and then where will we be? Separated again, with only one parent but this time I'll know you're out there. That won't fucking accomplish anything." She leant against the wall, close to tears but fighting valiantly against them. "I don't think I can do it. I sure as hell don't want to either."

The room was silent as Sanna got up and placed her hand on her sister's shoulder, pulling her into a hug. "It'll be fine. We'll be ready, I promise. We've still got a week. We'll pull through. Weasleys always do."

"We Summers women do too." Tash could afford a weak smile and the beaming grin Sanna lent out made her feel better. "OK, enough of this pansy breakdown stuff. What do we have?"

"Voice charm is pretty much ready. Are we going to trial it today?"

Sanna nodded. "Which means we're going to have to swap names as well. There's no point in confusing everyone."

"Right. So, you're Tash. Goddess, that's weird."

Teddy interjected. "You can't say Goddess. It'll have to be Merlin or 'blimey.'"

"Blimey?" Tash looked almost disgusted.

Sanna shrugged. "It's what Uncle Ron says. You get used to it. You never swear around Grandma Molly unless you want your mouth washed out with soap. Literally."

Tash made a disgusted face. "Note: Fear Grandma Molly."

Teddy laughed. "That's the spirit, Sanna."

The room froze, Teddy's hair blushing crimson, and the twins just looked at each other before breaking out into savage grins. "Oh yeah," Tash said. "This is going to be fun."

* * *

Dawn managed to make it the rest of the three weeks of the dig without breaking down and smuggling Tash back home. Barely. Oliver being around helped immensely, she had to say. It didn't hurt that he tended to scare off Ian and, as bad as that made her feel, she was definitely glad for that.

Ian decided to stay on at the excavation but Dawn wanted to get back well before Tash to settle back into the swing of things. Ollie saw her to the airport and made sure she caught her plane with a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Dawn managed to drag out a promise to visit with a pout and a liberal helping of puppy-dog eyes. Distance was no excuse when one could Apparate or Floo.

Connor picked her up from the airport and she briefly had flashes of the shamed mother she'd been sixteen years ago before letting them slide off her like water off a duck's back. There was no need to think of Charlie and Sanna. They were long gone and without some sort of miracle, it was going to stay that way.

When they entered the atrium, Dawn breathed a sigh of relief and Connor squeezed her shoulder to tell her it was good she was back. They'd never really needed words, the two of them. It was probably what made them such good friends. Words made a habit of ruining lives. Life without words was so much easier, which was ironic coming from a group of people that tended to babble. She supposed that's how they knew the power of words so well. Who else but those with experience would understand?

She popped in to say hello to Giles and Xander then practically fled to her room, flinging herself onto her bed with a sigh. Goddess, it was good to be home. She rolled on her side and peered at the photo of her and Tash, when her daughter had been all of nine. Pigtails and scrapes. Nothing had really changed, except maybe the pigtails. She was still getting into scrapes like any real Summers woman.

A knock at her door made her glance up and saw Buffy standing in the doorway. "How was the flight?"

"Good. It was quiet and boring, just the way I like it." The sisters shivered in unison. Their dislike of planes was well known. Fighting demons and saving the world? No problem. But mention a plane going down and it sent them close to hysterics. "Oh, and you'll never guess who found me in Scotland."

"Some cute, young thing that whisked you away from Ian?" Buffy asked jokingly.

"Close but not quite. Do you remember Oliver Wood?"

Buffy's jaw dropped. "Hotty McScotland? Mr Accent?"

Dawn laughed. "Yes, Buffy. Mr Accent. He was running an errand for Percy and-"

"Wait, Percy, as in the nerdy Weasley?"

Dawn nodded and she could hear the unspoken _'Charlie's younger brother'_ in the sentence and continued. "Anyway, he works with dear old Percy and he heard my name being thrown around the campsite and decided to come looking. You know he's coaching the Montrose Magpies now? And he has a son, Lachlan."

"And?" Buffy coaxed.

"And nothing, really. He just caught me up on what's been happening since I was gone from England. The Weasleys seem to have expanded again. And Ollie's son, Lachie? He's friends with... with Susanna." Dawn teared up but blinked them away before Buffy could say anything. "I keep forgetting she's not that baby I held in my arms. She's growing up, same as Tash. I wonder... No, I don't wonder. It's fine. But how weird is that? I think Ollie might have planned to stalk me. He promised to visit during the term," Dawn said brightly, changing the subject.

Buffy refused to follow. "It's all right to cry, Dawnie."

"No, it's not. It's been sixteen years, Buffy. I should have gotten used to the idea that I don't get to be a major part of her life. We made the decision for a reason. It'd be too hard for the girls to keep up the long distance thing. We decided it was better this way." Dawn allowed herself the weakness of sniffling a little before standing up and smoothing out the back of her pants. "Right, well, I've been away for four weeks, surely there's something for me to do."

Buffy stood slowly, amazed at how much in denial her baby sister was. "Go bug Andrew, I'm sure he's full of distracting stuff for you to do."

Dawn smiled tightly and squeezed Buffy's hand. "I'll tell you about the rest later?"

"Definitely, and no rainchecks."

"You bet."

* * *

The twins were counting down until the last day of camp, anticipating it with both a little dread and a little excitement. They finally got to meet the parent they'd never known. Meanwhile their friends were constantly pestering them in their mannerisms.

"You've got to cut out this 'mum' business, Sanna. One syllable and they'll know for sure."

"Tash, stop fidgeting. Your hair looks fine." The hair adjustments had taken place the previous day and both girls were antsy. Tash felt hampered and vulnerable from all this hair. All it took was one hair pull in a fight for her to start whimpering like a little girl. Sanna, however, was definitely seeing the upside to having a shorter hairstyle, especially in the summer heat.

They had three days until camp was over and the twins were beginning to realise that not only meant the mission was really going to start but they were going to be separated again. There was not a night that had gone by without one of the girls sneaking into the other's cabin. The lead up to the last day only resulted in longer nights and harder 'training', as Tash put it. Now when the councillors came looking, they really couldn't tell they'd swapped. While gratifying, it only made the girls work harder. Fooling strangers was easy, it was fooling family that was the hardest part.

Charlie had owled the other day saying that he'd meet Sanna at the Burrow, where she'd be staying for the next two weeks until it was time for school. Tash was a little apprehensive about getting thrust straight into the belly of the beast because apparently some of her younger cousins would be having a sleepover. It was enough to pull her enormous amount of hair out.

Sanna caught her trying to do just that and held her hands while her sister whimpered. "Natasha Joyce Summers, just calm down, all right? It'll be fine." Tash let the sound of her sister's voice wash over her and she nodded.

"What would you do at sleepovers? Please don't tell me there'll be girly magazines and hair products?"

"Says the girl who owns way too many skirts. Don't you ever have girly sleepovers?"

"Well yeah, but they're only half girly." At Sanna's raised eyebrow, she elaborated. "Me, Rach and Mick's little sister Jessie will sit around and paint each other's nails and do a bit of gossip and then me and Rach will go out patrolling with Aunt Faith."

Sanna nodded, eyes wide. "Oh bugger, I'm going to have to patrol, aren't I?"

"Oh yeah. Don't worry, it's so much fun. You'll be paired with either Buffy, Faith or Mick."

"Just Mick? But I thought only girls could be Slayers..."

"Well yeah but he's got the freaky super strength going for him. He inherited it from Faith. He's not as strong or as fast as a full fledged Slayer but he can hold his own. Seriously, just relax and follow your instincts."

"Mum, er, Mom lets you do this?"

Tash shrugged. "She freaked out a little at the start but once she saw I can take care of myself with a little help, she only made me call back every half hour instead of every fifteen minutes."

Sanna didn't look any more reassured and Tash felt a little bad for turning the tables on her sister, who'd only been trying to comfort her.

"Seriously, if you're not sure about it, you only have to go like once a week." Sanna nodded and took a deep breath.

"OK, so you remember our escape plan? The night before the Hogwarts Express comes, we'll Floo. Clay and Rach will be on the LA side and Teddy will be waiting on the UK side. Besides, we've got these," Sanna said, holding up the lockets that Rach had grudgingly made up for them. In each one was a photo of the other twin and all they had to say was 'audite vos mihi' and the other would appear like a holograph, Star Wars style. The sigil on the front would glow when they were being contacted. They'd be able to communicate like that if it was urgent.

"Do you think we're ready, Tash?" Sanna asked with more than a little trepidation. It was the first time she'd questioned it, what with Tash being the one who had the tiny breakdowns regularly and Sanna being the one to calm her down.

Tash shrugged. "Well, if we're not, we're three days away from finding out."

"Well gee, doesn't that just fill me with the kind of confidence that isn't?" Sanna retorted drily.

"See? You'll fit right in." Sanna's response was to punch her in the arm. Hard.


	7. Chapter Six

_Chapter Six_

Sanna stared in wonder as Clay led her through the double glass doors into the Hyperion atrium. She barely managed to stop her jaw from dropping. This... this building was amazing. It was even prettier than Malfoy Manor, which, in retrospect, wasn't hard considering the Manor had about as much charm as a Blast-Ended Skrewt. She watched as people stood talking, looking over files or travelling back and forth between the two ends of the room, disappearing into the small reception area where she saw a gaggle of people bent over a computer screen.

Her view of the room was suddenly restricted as a black t-shirt claimed her focus. She glanced up and stopped dead at who must have been Michael Harris, aka Mick, aka Tash's bestest Mick-shaped friend as she'd put it. Merlin, he was attractive. She stamped down that thought the moment it appeared and tried valiantly to look at him as objectively as possible. Tall, dark shaggy hair, deep brown eyes and those arms didn't look exactly like twigs from where she was standing.

She didn't have anymore time to think as he swept her up in a hug. As in her feet left the ground and she had no choice but to cling to him in the hopes that he wouldn't drop her on her arse sort of hug.

"Missed you, T."

"Missed you too, Mick." She still couldn't get over how weird her sister's voice sounded coming from her mouth.

"Hey, slayboy, stop hogging."

Mick set Sanna back down and the overwhelmed girl got her first glimpse of her mother and her mind kind of broke down. This glorious creature was her mother? Dawn Summers would have been called lanky in her youth but she'd grown into it and become sort of graceful. In a distant part of her mind that hadn't ceased function she noticed that Tash and herself looked a great deal like her mother.

Dawn drew her daughter into a hug and if either of them held on a little tight, the other didn't say anything. They separated and Dawn brushed the tears that had fallen from Sanna's eyes, oblivious that it wasn't the daughter she expected.

"So, how was camp?"

Sanna nodded, trying to gain some footing after such unbalancing emotions. "It was good. The activities were sort of boring but I met some cool people."

"Anyone in particular?"

She shrugged. "Just a girl and her friends."

Dawn knew her daughter was hiding something but let it drop. "Sounds fun. Any boys?"

Sanna laughed. "No, no boys, mu-mom." She cursed herself for the slip-up. Tash had it easy. Dad was said the same in both continents. Why couldn't America just say mum like civilised people?

"Sure, sure. I know that look. You've got your eye on someone." Rachael and Clay glanced at her and she shook her head conspicuously, not used to such intuitiveness. Charlie wasn't the most observant guy on the reservation. "Well, come on, I'll let you get settled back in."

Mick automatically picked up her bags and took the stairs two at a time and Sanna wished she could chloroform the butterflies dancing in her stomach because she was going to be lucky if she didn't lose her lunch all over the floor, especially after her first airplane ride. Speaking of lunch, it hadn't been that great to begin with. Why Tash hadn't just taken a Portkey to camp like a proper witch, she never knew.

Rachael and Clay grabbed an arm each and pulled Sanna up the stairs either side of the entrance, following Mick up another flight to the room Tash had instructed was hers. The first thing she noticed was the literal wall of photos opposite, or rather the lack of movement from what would be a moving wall in the Wizarding World. She knew that her sister went to school in Salem and they had moving photos but the majority of the photos seemed to be taken around the Hyperion, if the decor was similar to the atrium. She saw the gaps where the ones in her bag would go and she hoped that there wasn't rhyme or reason to how Tash had decorated.

Mick had dumped her bags on her bed and was lounging on it as Rach and Clay hovered behind her. Mick noticed and frowned. "You all right, T?"

"Hmm?" Sanna blinked and nodded jerkily. "Fine. Just acclimatising myself to civilisation again." Crap. She didn't think Tash had "acclimatising" in her vocabulary. Thankfully, Mick didn't seem to notice.

"How was the land of G-man? Tweedy and tea-like?" She felt Rachael and Clay freeze behind her and she wasn't quite sure how to translate Mick's slang into any sort of civilised tongue. She'd thought Tash mutilated the English language; Mick butchered it.

"It was... fine. Lots of tea and tweed. At least from the Gileses." She saw Clay nodding out of the corner of her eye and relaxed a little. She could so do this. She'd do it for Tash.

"Well, we'd better get unpacked. If it's all the same to you, I need to hang out with people who I haven't seen everyday for the last six weeks," Clay said drily as he left, Rach nodding emphatically in his wake.

Sanna glared at their retreating backs. Traitors. Leaving her in the same room as a charming boy who thought he was her best friend that she was not allowed to go near in fear of screwing up Tash's life. Bloody great.

"Tash?"

"Yep, all here. Sorry. I-I'm a little tired, I guess." She resolutely looked through Tash's photos, refusing to give in to the temptation to look at him. That didn't last very long. Her eyes scanned the photos and somehow they kept scanning to the other side of the room until they reached his face.

Mick shrugged and vacated the bed. Sanna couldn't help but notice how graceful he was and it was not FAIR. A boy should not be that graceful or pretty or anything that might lead her to jeopardise her identity as not Tash. "Right, I should let you catch a few winks. Ma needed my help with some demon prince called Barvain. Ever heard of him?"

Sanna shook her head mutely. Crap, they didn't think of that. Tash helped as much as she could with the research and Sanna had next to no knowledge of demons. They didn't cover them in Defense Against the Dark Arts, only mythical creatures. Oh well, they'd deal.

Mick nodded and waved as he left, calling back, "I'm glad you're home, T."

Sanna sat on the bed and sighed. Well, that hadn't been a total disaster... right?

* * *

Dawn interrupted Sanna sometime later while she was studying the photos. Quite a few of them were of Tash, Rachael and Mick goofing around. Others were of Scoobies, taken candidly while they were working or talking with others. There was one that particularly caught her eye: it was of the Summers women, dressed up to go out, Tash in a gorgeous strappy, knee-length purple dress with a corsage on her wrist. Prom, or whatever it was called. Whoever had been taking the photo had made the Summers' laugh and this was the result. It was breath-taking.

She hadn't quite figured out why Tash would be home for prom, until she saw the photo next to it. Tash and Mick, dressed in a suit, standing side by side, arms slung haphazardly around each other. For a brief instant, Sanna was slightly jealous of her sister but dispelled the thought as silliness. They were best friends, of course they were comfortable with each other.

"No matter how long those photos are up, you always look at them," Dawn said from the doorway. Sanna jumped and turned towards her mother alarmed. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Of course." Dawn gave her a strange look so she hurriedly continued on sarcastically. "I bet you did it just to make me jump."

Dawn shook her head with a smile and changed the subject. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner. Celebrate coming home."

Sanna grinned. "Sounds great. Can we go now?"

Dawn laughed. "Hold your horses, kiddo. I've got a few things to finish up but give me half an hour?"

Sanna could only nod.

* * *

An hour later, the two of them were just sitting down at a restaurant that the Scoobies ate at regularly. The staff had become accustomed to the weird things that popped up around their customers. "Sorry it took me so long," Dawn apologised, looking hassled. "Andrew would not shut up."

"Does he ever?" It was meant to be sarcastic but it came out closer to curious.

"Not when he's breathing."

There was a pause. Sanna bit her lip and practically spewed out, "What was Dad like?"

It gave Dawn such a fright that she almost knocked over her water. "Sorry?"

"I was just... wondering. What was Dad like?"

Dawn blinked, seemingly stunned.

"Mom?"

"Sorry, you just caught me off guard there for a second. Your dad? He was... something else. I met him while I was travelling in Romania and we kind of hit it off. We moved to England to be closer to his family. His huge family, by the way. None of this adopted stuff we've got going on. He was the second eldest of seven. Crazy, huh?"

Sanna nodded, impatient. She already knew this but she couldn't rush Dawn. If she did, she might not get everything.

"He was a decent person. The kind that isn't so common anymore. His whole family were decent people," she said, frowning, as if troubled by something.

"Can I ask why you guys divorced?"

Dawn laughed bitterly. "Sometimes I don't even know. We were young, me especially, and I don't think we knew how to compromise and things got out of hand and, Goddess, we both said some things, terrible things and it kind of went belly up."

"Do you ever miss him?"

Dawn looked at Sanna, really looked, and for a moment the Weasley thought the gig was up. "Why do you want to know?"

"I can't know what my dad was like?"

"Well, of course you can, but you've never taken an interest before."

Sanna played the sympathy card. "It's just what some kids at camp were saying..."

Dawn stiffened. "What did they say?"

"N-Nothing bad. They were just talking about their dad and I got curious, that's all."

Dawn visibly relaxed and smiled softly. "Do you want to know more?"

"If you don't mind?"

"Nope, but you're getting the edited version."

Sanna made a disgusted face. "Mom, gross."

Dawn laughed and threw a bit of her roll at Sanna. "Not in that way, pervert."

"Other pervert."

* * *

This wasn't going to work, this wasn't going to work, this was SO not going to work. What had they been thinking? What had she been thinking? It'd had been her crazy idea and now whatever bad things happened were going to be blamed on her. Oh, because there would be bad things. She was her mother's daughter and bad things always happened, except instead of Tuesday, she seemed to have inherited Thursday because she hated Thursdays with a fiery passion.

She landed on her backside on the ground as the Portkey she'd been holding had stopped none too gently in front of the Burrow. She sat there for a moment, wincing before scrambling up and dusting herself off. She glanced up at the building and paused, any thoughts of Charlie were sidetracked momentarily by what must have been the Burrow. Wobbly was definitely one way to describe it. The rooms seemed to be sticking out of the side of the ramshackle house at random and there were some that had to be held up by magic. There was no other explanation.

And inside that towering ramshackle house was her father. Her father. Her dad. The man who had married her mother and separated her from her sister. No, she told herself. That wasn't fair. Mom had as much of a say in it as he did. The blame gets pointed at both of them.

She patted her pocket to make sure her wand and shrunk luggage were still there before taking a deep breath and walking quickly toward the door. She didn't see any doorbell or knocker of any kind so she knocked and before her hand could even retreat, the door sprung open and Charlie Weasley stood there grinning at her. "Sanna."

"Daddy."

They hugged and Tash couldn't believe it. This was her FATHER. She vowed silently then and there that she would do whatever it took to make sure their plan worked. She shouldn't have to miss out on having a father any more than Sanna should miss out on a mother.

They parted reluctantly and Charlie ruffled her hair. "So, did Teddy have to put his Beater's club to good use?"

Tash rolled her eyes. She thought Sanna had been overreacting with the no boys comment. "No, Dad. The boys were all very appropriate. Did you know Ollie sent Lachie? Yep, it's true. Got to hang out with the Scottish kid for a while."

Charlie chuckled. "I'm sure the Scottish kid loves being to referred to like that."

"You know he loves it."

"Charles Weasley, where have your manners gone? Are you going to leave your only child out there in the cold?" Something zinged through Tash. She wasn't an only child. Not anymore. But even that couldn't distract her from Molly Weasley's all-encompassing hug.

Tash almost teared up then but she fought the sensation down and reveled in the warmth her grandmother exuded. She'd never had more blood relatives than Aunt Buffy and her mother and to suddenly find out she was related to an entire clan of people was slightly overwhelming, especially when they all seemed like such friendly people.

"Now," Molly said, pulling back and bustling Tash into the kitchen. "We'll set you down and get you some lunch. Those camps never feed you properly."

Tash felt herself pushed down into a chair at the solid and slightly dented kitchen table and curiously ran a hand across it. She could almost feel the family history and the crazy events that made the dents. Charlie flopped down into the chair next to Tash with a put-upon sigh.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you either, Charlie. You never feed yourself properly when you're not looking after Sanna."

"Mum," Charlie started. "I'm 40 years old. I can take care of myself."

Molly paused in her lunch preparation and put her hands on her hips, eyebrow raised imperiously at her second eldest son. "Oh really? That's not what I hear from Ginny."

Tash watched as her father's ears flushed a curious shade of pink and almost glared. She hated when her ears did that and now she knew where she got it from.

"Dad?"

Charlie shook his head ruefully. "Bill, Harry and Ron came over and we got up to a little mischief." Molly snorted as she turned back to the bench, muttering under her breath about lying, ungrateful children.

Tash snorted. "I take it Firewhiskey was involved."

"It may have made an appearance."

Tash looked disapprovingly at her father and he held up his hands. "Don't look at me like that. I swear, Mum, you've got a little protegee here. Who needs soap when you've got Sanna?" Tash glared at him and stopped for a second to wonder at it. Here she was in a place she never knew existed with a man who she once thought didn't love her joking about getting drunk while she was gone.

"Grandmere?" Victoire. Bill's oldest. Inherited some Veela from Fleur apparently. Leggy, blonde hair, blue eyes and hardly a French accent to her at all, though she was fluent. Tash remembered Sanna teasing Teddy about her. The blonde finished descending the stairs and offered Tash a winsome smile. "Sanna. Welcome back. How was camp?"

Tash smiled, slowly getting into the groove of being Sanna. "Pretty cool, actually. There were a couple people you would've liked. You should come next time. I'm sure Uncle Bill could spare you."

Victoire shrugged gracefully. "It sounds like fun, but I'm not the one who'll be behind on her homework."

"Well I'm sorry Little Miss Prefect, I forgot all of us weren't a stick in the mud."

Victoire laughed and sat down next to her. "You're starting to sound like Dom, Sanna. We wouldn't want that."

Dominique Weasley. Victoire's younger brother. Sanna wasn't a fan. Tash snorted. "Who would?"

"You ready for the sleepover?"

"Of course, V. I'm always up for a little giggle and gossip."

Victoire raised a slender eyebrow. "V? Sanna, just who have you been hanging out with?"

"What? I can't give you a nickname?" Everyone had a nickname at Scooby HQ. It was in Tash's genetic makeup to shorten her friends' names. She was hard pressed to think of one person in the Scoobies or the Scrappies who didn't have a nickname, even if it was one they despised.

Victoire smiled. "Don't worry, Sanna. I like it."

Tash sighed with relief. Well, she'd fooled her father, grandmother and one of her closest cousins. This was shaping out pretty all right.

"Oh hey, Sanna?" Charlie turned from where he was heading upstairs and lingered at the base of the staircase.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"How do you feel like dinner?"

Tash's eyes lit up. "Sounds fantastic."

"Do you mind if someone joins us?"

"Not at all. Who is it?"

"Veronica."

The Weasleys in the room could attest to never seeing a face fall quite as quickly as Tash's then. "Veronica Aubrey?"

"That's the one. Are you sure you don't mind?"

A wall closed over Tash's face. "Nope. It's five by five with me."

Charlie froze. "What did you just say?"

Crap crap crap. Stupid recognisable Scooby speech pattern. "Five by five. I picked it up from a boy at camp."

Charlie didn't seem reassured by that and headed up stairs, keeping her in his sights for as long as possible.

Well, crap. This was unforeseen.


	8. Chapter Seven

Tash paced Sanna's room impatiently. She'd tried connecting to her sister's locket but Sanna hadn't responded. It was probably because she was busy but this was freaking serious! She growled as the skirt she was wearing to dinner twisted uncomfortably and she pulled it aggressively back into place. This was not going the way she wanted. She was supposed to come and remind her father how wonderful her mother was and oh wow, wouldn't he just love to track her down and sweep her off her feet? Then they can live happily ever after with both their daughters. That was as far as Tash's plans went because she so did not want to think about her parents doing the naughty. Yeesh.

Her pacing slowed and she sat on her bed with a sigh. No matter how much trouble her father was causing by re-acquainting himself with Veronica, she didn't want to cause animosity between him and Sanna when they eventually swapped back. If they swapped back. Tash ran a hand through her hair, ignoring the ten minutes she'd spent trying to get her fringe to sit right. Their plan was so defective. She laughed softly. They'd have to have a plan for it to be defective. This wasn't a plan, it was a whim. A stupid whim that was going to get them both in trouble.

It was a good thing that she liked trouble.

There was a knock at her door and Tash sat up, plastered a fake smile on her face and called, "Come in."

A blonde head popped through and Tash smiled genuinely at Victoire. "Hey V."

"Sanna," the younger girl said, entering and closing the door behind her. "I just wanted to see how you were. You didn't look happy before."

Tash smiled wryly at her. "That's one way of putting it. Come on over here and fill me in on what I've missed, apart from our dads getting pissed." Tash patted the bed next to her and thanked Spike for filling her head with British slang.

"There's not really much to fill you in on. Dom's being a little prick as usual. Let's see... I'm not sure if this is exactly worth telling you but Katie and Luna have been having talks."

Tash perked up. "Really? What about?"

"Apparently Hayden's been bullying Adele." Tash mentally searched through the extended family Sanna had been telling her about. She remembered Adele as Blaise and Luna's only child, so Hayden must have been one of Marcus and Katie Flint's.

"Bullying? As in pigtail pulling and pushing into the mud?"

Victoire nodded and was confused by Tash's grin. "Sanna, it's nothing to smile about."

"Are you kidding? It's adorable." At Victoire's blank look, she rolled her eyes. "He likes her, V."

"No." Pause. "Really?"

"Really."

Victoire looked doubtful but seemed to take Tash's word on it. "Well, what about you? How was camp? Your description before seemed a bit vague. Something you don't want getting back to Charlie?"

Oh, how right she was. "Not really." Lie. "It's all just a bunch of 'you had to be there' moments." Truth. "Though I did wage war with another girl from across the pond." Truth

Victoire laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Maybe because you know me?" Tash felt horrible. She was genuinely having a good time and she was lying to her cousin. Her _cousin_. The first one she'd ever met. The first one she'd ever had. She was so tempted to tell her right then and there but she couldn't. She'd blow the whole thing out of the water. "Hey V?"

"Yes, Sanna?"

"I'm glad I'm back." Half-truth. She was back, after fifteen years.

"Me too." Victoire stretched and Tash envied her. Her cousin was all grace and poise. Tash had inherited her mother's lankiness and was more likely to knock something over than anything else. "I'll leave you to finish getting ready. Charlie's probably getting anxious. I think he wants to impress this Veronica woman."

"Probably." Tash's face clouded over and it didn't escape Victoire's attention.

"Don't get into too much mischief, cousin."

"I can't promise anything, cousin."

Victoire shook her head and left, and not a minute too soon. Tash's locket began to glow and she floundered for the catch. Sanna's holographic image shone out.

"Sanna! Where have you been?"

"Mum took me out to dinner. I couldn't very well answer the locket in front of her, could I?" Sanna noticed the anxious look on her sister's face. "Tash? What's wrong?"

"I thought you said she was gone," Tash hissed, getting straight to the point.

"What?" Sanna looked baffled. "Calm down. What happened?"

"Dad's taking me out to dinner tonight with Veronica!"

Sanna paled and Tash felt bad for being so grumpy but Charlie was messing up their plans.

"Veronica Veronica? Veronica Aubrey?"

"That's the one. What do we do?"

Sanna chewed her lip. "I don't know. I really thought he was over her. She was a bit of a hussy," Sanna admitted.

"Why did they break up in the first place?"

"He didn't really say at the time. He just cited some 'irreconcilable differences' rubbish."

Tash huffed. "Well, watch out Veronica Aubrey."

"Oh no, Tash. Don't do anything too rash." Funny how Victoire and Sanna both said the same thing.

"Oh please, sistermine. This will be a breeze. A total walk in the park. How's the old homestead?"

"Glad to have you back, it seems. I'm in hiding in your room at the moment. I haven't managed to meet anyone else except Mum and Mick."

"Remember, it's pronounced Mom, and Mick wasn't too rough, was he? We tend to tickle."

"No sign of tickling so far," Sanna said, thinking back to that first hug.

"All right," Tash replied suspiciously. There was a funny look on her sister's holographic face. She didn't know what it was yet but she was going to find out.

"How's the Burrow?"

"Pretty darn awesome. Grandma Molly is amazing. I met V too."

"V?"

"Victoire."

Sanna laughed. "Trust you to give her a nickname."

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed the whole nickname thing. Name one person in LA who doesn't have a nickname."

"Well, I haven't met too many of them yet so I'll get back to you on that."

"How's Mom?"

Sanna smiled happily. "She's amazing. Funny. Pretty, too. How's Dad?"

"I definitely wasn't expecting him. Did you know he went out and got drunk with Bill, Harry and Ron?"

"He didn't." An exasperated look came over Sanna's face.

"Oh, yes he did. Watching Grandma Molly tell him off was pretty funny. You got some good family over here."

"_We_ have some good family, I agree. Promise you'll look out for them?"

"Only if you do the same."

"Deal. See you soon, Tash."

"Back atcha, San."

Tash closed her locket and felt better for having talked to Sanna.

* * *

Sanna closed her locket with a perturbed look on her face. Their first day of swapping and things were already going wrong, though to be fair the debacle with Charlie would have happened regardless. Sanna scowled at her father's bad timing. He couldn't have waited until Tash and she had fixed his love problem with Dawn?

Her door opened and Mick strolled in, lounging onto Sanna's bed next to her. Merlin darn it, she still wasn't used to so much physical contact. She knew from her experience with Tash that "Scoobies are all about the contact" but that didn't make it any easier.

"So, you up to a bit of patrolling?"

Sanna blinked at him and smiled unsurely. "I don't know. I'm kinda tired. Plane trip and all."

Mick shrugged. "Tomorrow night?"

"Sure. Sounds good." Sanna flashed a smile, hoping it was more confident than the last.

He nodded but didn't move except to sit up. Sanna stared expectantly at him and he just stared back. She lost her nerve and looked away, blushing. This was wrong, very wrong. He was Tash's best friend and Sanna was feeling a little more than just friendship at the moment. She could honestly say that he was one of the most attractive people she'd ever met and she knew Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour. He stood up, in front of her. She glanced up at him and got caught in his gaze again.

"D-did you want anything else?"

"You feeling all right, T?"

"Fine. Like I told you, I'm tired."

He held her eyes for a moment longer before turning and leaving. Sanna groaned when her door closed. If that didn't make it obvious that she wasn't Tash, nothing would... until she went patrolling tomorrow night.

Her door burst open again, but it wasn't Mick this time. It was someone she recognised from the photos as Connor, her mother's best friend. He froze and he sniffed. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed an 'O' as she realised something they hadn't thought of. Around the same time Connor realised that she was not Tash.

She yelped as he pounced and pinned her against the bed. For what felt like the hundredth time today, Sanna felt out of her league. What had they been _thinking_?

"Who are you?" He growled.

Sanna swallowed loudly and laughed nervously. "Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Susanna."

Connor blinked and just as quickly as he'd pounced, he was off her, standing in between her and the door. She wasn't sure whether it was instinct or on purpose. "Sanna?"

"I take it you've heard of me?"

"I drove Giles to the airport to pick your mom."

"When she came back with just Tash."

Connor nodded and studied her. Sanna wasn't sure what he was looking for but he seemed to find it because he relaxed. "Summer camp?"

Sanna nodded.

"She show you the photo?"

"She took it just before she went to the airport so you wouldn't be able to take it off her again."

Connor snorted. "Sounds like Tash."

"You believe me?"

"You smell like her, but different."

"Well, we are twins. Is it all right if I tell you that the smelling thing is kind of disconcerting?"

He shrugged again. "Don't forget, you're going to have to deal with Angel as well."

"We didn't think of that."

"Obviously. You're lucky Spike's on a mission. So what's the deal?"

"Deal?"

"Why did you swap?"

"I wanted to meet Mum. She wanted to meet Dad. It seemed logical at the time."

"You really are Dawn's kids, aren't you?"

"I'd like to think so." There was a pause before Sanna asked uncertainly, "You're not going to tell her, are you?"

Connor looked at her and for a moment, Sanna thought the whole thing was up before he shook his head. "Just as long as when you see your dad again, you hit him for me. I've been waiting for fifteen years."

"I know you're biased and all, but it hurt Dad just as much."

"I know. Doesn't make up for it, though."

Sanna wasn't too sure but Connor was her mother's best friend and was therefore inclined to hate any guy that caused her pain.

"I was going to take you out patrolling as a welcome back but I don't think I want to put you anywhere near a vampire," he said critically.

"I can take care of myself just fine, thank you. I'm..." She was going to say she was the best in her Charms class but that didn't really matter. Class is nothing like being out there and experiencing it for herself. It was idiotic just to think it, even for a moment.

"Sleep tonight. I might think about it tomorrow."

"Connor," she said as he turned to leave. "Don't let my mum get hurt. I'm growing attached to her."

"Don't say that with Tash's voice. It's Mom. And I never do."

* * *

Tash had never been to a dinner that had been so awkward. Not even when Riley and Sam Finn showed up and Willow invited them to stay the night. She'd never seen Aunt Buffy so uncoordinated. That, however, had nothing on what Tash was doing to Veronica. As far as she could tell, the woman wasn't that bad, outside a few fatal personality flaws, but she'd chosen the wrong man to make the moves on.

It didn't help that they were being sickeningly cute. Literally. One more hand-fed mouthful and Tash was going to barf up her chicken parmagiana all over the table.

"So Sanna," Veronica turned her sickly sweet smile to her side of the table. "I heard you've been away on summer camp. How was it?"

"Pretty good, actually. I spent most of my time warring with another girl."

"Sanna," Charlie warned. Tash ignored him.

"The trick to it is waiting until they don't expect anything. It's actually pretty funny how worked up some people can get by a little pranking."

"Sanna, you told me you wouldn't get into trouble."

"And did you know that an amazing amount of people are scared of a little spider? I swear, it can cause grown men to squeal like little girls."

Veronica's smile was less sweet and a little queasy. Spider fear, check.

"So Veronica, have any kids of your own?" Tash asked innocently.

"Merlin, no, I don't deal well with children."

The table was silent as Veronica realised her slip-up and Tash grinned nastily. Charlie quickly took control of the conversation and steered it towards safer ground. Tash let him. She soon found out that Veronica worked at St Mungo's as a receptionist. High achiever, this one. They spent most of their time talking about Charlie and his dragons. He offered to take her to the reservation for a sneak peek but it looked like poor Veronica was as fond as dragons as she was of spiders. Tash almost felt like she hardly needed to do any work to show her father what a waste of time this woman really was.

Sadly, Charlie seemed to have a weakness for a pretty face. Tash just couldn't see how he could even contemplate someone as shallow as Veronica when he had Dawn to compare her to. Intelligent, funny, independent Dawn.

The rest of the dinner went by rather uneventfully, Tash throwing in a few quips around dessert that left Veronica flustered and caused Charlie to save the day more than once. Tash would have laughed at the stern looks she was getting from her father if it hadn't meant that he obviously wasn't finding this as funny as she was.

It was made obvious to Tash just how annoyed Charlie was with her when he made her use the fireplace in the backroom to Floo home, so he could Side-Apparate Veronica home. Probably to apologise for his bratty daughter. Tash landed in the Burrow's living room with a grumpy look on her face. Arthur was sitting there reading the Quibbler when she arrived. "Sanna?"

Tash was annoyed that her grumpiness with Charlie was going to ruin the first time she was meeting her grandfather. "Hi Grandpa." She hugged him and smiled despite herself when he kissed the top of her forehead kindly.

"What's got you in such a mood?"

"Nothing. Dad's just being silly."

Arthur chuckled. "Sometimes you have to let him make a few mistakes."

"What if they ruin everything?"

"You pick it back up and start rebuilding."

"But what if it's impossible to make the building you wanted? What if you make some horrible modern monstrosity instead of a nice beach house?"

"Sanna, what's wrong?"

"Don't worry about it. You'll find out eventually."

"Just make sure you don't do anything rash."

"Why is everyone saying that to me recently?"

Arthur chuckled again and squeezed her hand. "Welcome home, love."

"Thanks Grandpa." Tash blinked away tears and went to her room, confounded at how her mother could have left this amazing family.


	9. Chapter Eight

_Chapter Eight_

The next day, Tash made the effort to avoid Charlie. She even went so far as to get up early, have breakfast and Floo to Teddy's. She surprised Remus as he sat in his living room with a cup of tea and the Daily Prophet. "Sanna, hello. You're up early this morning."

"Sorry for not asking first, I just need to talk to Teddy. Is he up?"

"I think he's hiding under his blankets. And you know you don't have to ask anymore." Tash smiled at him and thanked him before trying to remember where Teddy had told her where his room was. Luckily for her, no one was around when she opened the doors to the linen closet or the bathroom. She opened the third door and sighed in relief when she saw a room that looked remarkably similar to Mick's, without all the guitars. It even contained it's own lump in the middle of the bed.

She closed the door behind her and approached the lump, watching as it rose and fell with shallow breaths. She poked it sharply and giggled as it grunted and rolled away. She poked it again.

"Sanna, go away."

"Sorry, wrong twin. Try again." She toed off her shoes and hopped onto the bed. "Come on, Teddy. I need to talk and Sanna'll be asleep. Get up." She bounced enough to get the bed rolling, laughing as Teddy tried to shuffle up to the head of the bed.

"Bloody hell, bugger off, would you?"

"Nope, sorry, not an option."

"Fine, fine, fine, just stop jumping," he said, flipping the top half of his covers down, glaring at her. Tash grinned at his bedhair and bounced down to sit next to him.

"That was not jumping. You've obviously never been on a trampoline."

He gave her a funny look and she gasped in shock.

"You've never been on a trampoline? Oh my Goddess, you've never lived."

"Are you always this energetic in the morning?"

"No, not usually but I went to bed early to avoid Charlie last night."

Teddy frowned and raised himself up on his elbows. "Why? What'd you do?"

Tash huffed. "Oh fine, just blame me."

"Well, what did you do?"

"He took me out to dinner last night with Veronica and-"

"Wait, Veronica?"

"Yes, yes, Veronica Aubrey, the ho. Anyway, I took a couple of not-so-subtle digs at her and he got grumpy at me so I got grumpy at him and he made me Floo home. I met Grandpa Arthur, by the way."

"So he's dating her again?"

Tash looked at him like he was especially slow. "Can't you keep up?"

He glared at her. "Well sorry but some annoying person just jumped on my bed to wake me up at," he glanced at his watch, "bloody hell, eight thirty? You expect me to function?"

Tash sighed dramatically. "Fine. I'll let you get dressed and eat, but that's all the leeway I'm giving you."

"How gracious," he muttered sarcastically.

"I know," she said over her shoulder as she closed the door behind her. She wandered to where she thought the kitchen was and was rewarded when she saw Dora cooking pancakes while dancing along to the Wireless Wizarding Network. "Morning, Dora!"

"Wotcher Sanna! How was camp?"

"It was really fun. I'm sure Teddy told you all about it?"

"Sort of, as much as boys talk about anything. It was mostly grunting."

Tash laughed. "Sounds like him. In fact, it sounded like him just then."

"Speaking of morning attitude, you're not usually up this early."

"I had a bit of a spat with Dad last night. I'm avoiding him this morning and he'll run away when the girls get to the Burrow for the sleepover."

Dora shook her head and flipped a pancake, grimacing when it caught the edge of the pan and stuck to it. "I don't know why I bother."

"Don't worry. It doesn't matter what they look like as long as they taste good."

"You tell me that every time but I have yet to believe you." Tash blinked. She got a warm feeling in her chest. It was just another reminder that she and Sanna had more in common than just appearance. She liked those reminders, it made this whole thing seem worth it.

Teddy chose that moment to shuffle into the kitchen and sit down at the table, head thumping down to try and resume his previous sleeping state. Dora and Tash traded glances and broke into huge grins.

"Teddy, pancakes."

Grunt.

"No, you have to come and get them yourself."

Whiny grunt.

"Don't take that tone of voice with me, mister. Get up."

He groaned and heaved his body up to shuffle some more over to his mother and take the plate handed to him, along with the maple syrup and shuffle back to the table.

"Would you like some pancakes, Sanna?"

"No, I had breakfast before I came, but thanks."

"That leaves more for me," Remus said, entering, the Prophet folded under his arm, and sliding his arms around his wife, kissing her cheek.

"Leave some for me."

"I suppose I will. You might have to fight Teddy for them. I think he's going to need all the fuel he can get for tonight."

"I find that offensive, Remus," Tash said, putting a hand over her heart. "Are you implying that it's a task to hang out with me?"

He seemed to think it over before nodding decisively. "Yes, I think that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Meanie."

He barked out a laugh, which caught Tash off guard. "You know me better than that, Sanna."

* * *

Tash fell back onto the grass with a groan, Teddy joining her a few moments later. After hiding out at the Lupin's for a few hours, the two had returned to the Burrow only to be asked by Grandma Molly to help with the de-gnoming. Up until that moment, Tash had never heard of de-gnoming and after this moment, she never wanted to hear those words ever again.

"Dear Goddess, what did I do to be punished like that?"

"You've got to stop it with that Goddess stuff. Remember: Merlin or blimey," Teddy said breathlessly.

"Teddy, I just spent the last two hours playing Ring a Ring O' Roses on crack with gnomes. I can use whoever's name in vain that I want to."

"Would now be a good time to tell you that this is a regular occurrence and we got off lucky with that group? That's rather small compared to the horde we usually get."

Tash stared at him in horror. "You're kidding."

"I wish I was."

"Even with that little psycho at the end that clung onto me?"

"There's usually more of those."

"I don't think I like England anymore. Take me home."

"Oh, stop whining. Don't forget you've got this ruddy sleepover to look forward to."

"Not looking forward to hanging with the girls?" Tash asked, smirking.

"Not particularly, no."

"I thought you and V..."

Teddy glared at her vehemently and she turned her head to see Victoire coming out from the kitchen with lemonade. Tash could have kissed her.

"I'm not letting this lie, T."

"Cease with the nicknames, wouldn't you?"

"No, I don't think I will."

"Have fun?" Victoire said with a sly smile as she drew nearer.

"Remind me again, fair cousin, why you couldn't join us?"

Tash could have sworn there was an evil glint in Victoire's eyes as she said, "I'm just not made for de-gnoming, fair cousin."

"And I am?!"

"Calm down, Sanna. Here, have some lemonade." She handed glasses to both of them before taking her own and sitting down next to them.

There was silence as each of the teenagers sipped on the refreshing drink. Tash finished her glass first and climbed laboriously to her feet. "I'm going to go get me another glass."

"I'll come with," Teddy said, about to get up but Tash nudged him back down.

"Don't be silly. I'll get some for you. Otherwise V would be here by herself. We wouldn't want that."

Teddy's eyes widened as he realised the situation Tash was putting him into. She grinned happily as she left them with a bounce in her step. She could almost feel the burn of Teddy's glare, which only made her happier.

She didn't come out with the lemonade for another ten minutes.

* * *

Sanna woke up the next morning, groggy and disorientated. It took her a few moments to realise that not only was definitely not morning - her alarm clock read 5:12am - but there was someone in her room with her. She stretched, hand reaching under her pillow for her wand and pulled a bit more theatrics before bolting up right and pointing her wand at the intruder.

A man sat on the wheely chair next to Tash's desk. He was tall, slightly foreboding and he wore product in his hair. He wore all black and didn't look a day over 25. He simply looked at her wand and she knew now that she'd lost the element of surprise. She probably never had it. If he wanted to, he could kill her before she said the first syllable to any spell she knew.

"I talked to Connor."

Sanna slowly lowered her wand. "So you're Angel."

"And you're Susanna."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Not if you didn't know. If I was anything less than what I was, I wouldn't have picked it."

"Connor did and he's not a vampire."

The corners of Angel's mouth twitched and Sanna wondered at the sadness in it. "Connor's an exception to the rule."

"So Tash said."

Sanna studied the vampire and could see why the drama with Aunt Buffy happened. He was tall, dark and handsome. Just the thing to sweep a young cheerleader off her feet.

Angel stood up suddenly and Sanna aimed her wand at him without thinking. They both stared at her hand as she lowered it again and stashed it in its resting place under her pillow. "I'll try to help but I don't think I can do that much."

"It's all right. Tash and I have this covered."

Angel nodded and left silent. Sanna let out a breath and hid her shaking hands under her blankets. No matter how good he was or how tortured he was by a soul, she'd just met her first vampire. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest and knew if Angel was still anywhere near her room, he'd be able to hear it too.

She glanced at her clock and felt shocked to see only a few minutes had passed. It had felt longer. She would never be able to sleep now. She threw the blankets and grabbed a baggy jumper from Tash's wardrobe, pulling it over head before heading downstairs.

Due to the nature of the Watcher's Council, there was hardly a time when someone was not awake and working. People were translating texts, sharpening weapons or arguing over meaningless things after being up for a few too many hours. Sanna padded over to what was considered Angel's office but in reality was the headquarters for the original Scoobies. She found Dawn asleep on top of her notes, pen still in hand. She knocked softly on the door and Dawn sat up with a start, eyes flying around and desperately trying to blink the sleep from her eyes. Sanna wondered if she knew she had ink on her nose.

"Tash, hey sweetie. What time is it?"

"Sometime after 5."

"In the morning?" At Sanna's nod, Dawn groaned. She wiped her hand over her face and smiled blearily at her daughter. "I guess I got a little caught up, huh?"

"Yeah Mom, just a little."

"What are you doing up? You're usually fast asleep until at least 10."

Sanna shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. Came down to stretch my legs."

"Well," Dawn said with a yawn. "I'm going to bed to catch a few more winks. Try not to get into mischief."

"Me? Mischief? Surely you're thinking of someone else."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Of course. What was I thinking? I must have mistaken all those owls I got about duels during the term."

Sanna bit her lip because it was eerily similar to something Charlie would say. She smiled at Dawn and her mother ruffled her hair as she passed. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. Thanks for being here." Sanna had never had a mother figure, only Grandma Molly and so far, she was enjoying it.

"Where else would I be? I would never give you up." Sanna was barely able to hide the anger and pain in her eyes before the tired Dawn saw it. Dawn walked up the stairs, leaving Sanna to curl up on Angel's couch, tears streaming down her eyes.

She was shaking. She had never felt her emotions shift so quickly. She'd been so content and then... she'd been angry. So very angry. What was the difference between her and Tash? Had there been something wrong with her that she had been left with her father? Sanna shook her head and took a deep breath. Maybe Charlie was the one that left first. Maybe he'd taken Sanna and had left Tash with Dawn. Well, she wouldn't find out by sitting here feeling sorry for herself. She owed it to herself but most of all, she owed it to her sister. They'd both been robbed of each other and she was going to make it right, goddamnit!

She rubbed all the signs of crying from her cheeks and gave herself a moment to collect herself. Unfortunately for Sanna, it was in that moment that Mick decided to stalk into the room. There was no other word for it. He stalked.

"T, you all right?"

"Peachy fuzzy keen. Why?"

Mick studied her before shrugging, leaving it be. "I didn't think you'd be up."

"Couldn't sleep. What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep." Sanna's eyes narrowed and Mick smirked at her. He stalked over to her - she couldn't get over it - and sat down next to her on the couch, forcing her to lean against him or mould herself to the side of the couch. She chose the couch.

"How was patrolling?" She asked, not really caring but she didn't want any awkward silences. She hated awkward silences.

"Five by five. A couple of vampires. A Fyarl demon. Nothing me and Mom couldn't handle."

"Faith? You went patrolling with Faith?"

Mick gave her a strange look. "Yeah. Why?"

"What? No, nothing. No reason." Sanna wanted to hit her head against a wall. Repeatedly. Could she be anymore awkward around this boy?

"All right. Whatever. Listen, I get that you're jetlagged or whatever and you've been away for a couple of weeks but you've been acting real weird. I just wanted to know when I'm going to get my T back."

"Soon, I promise. I'm just... things are strange right now and I need to deal with it."

Mick growled in frustration. "No, T, you don't get it. That right there? That's weird. Since when do you keep stuff from me? Since when don't you let me in on your plans?"

Since I've never been more attracted to anyone in my life, Sanna thought sadly.

"Look, I need to deal with this by myself. It's a by myself thing, i.e. not you. You'll find out soon enough. I promise."

Mick ripped his eyes from her own and cast them to the floor but not before Sanna saw the hurt in them. Damn it.

"Mick, I'm sorry, I am, I really am but you have to trust me."

"I don't know, T. I'm not sure I can." He stood and left, without even a hesitation in his step or a glance over his shoulder.

Sanna groaned and dropped her head in her hands. She hadn't even been here a full day and she was already bollocksing up Tash's life. Crap.

She was also falling for her twin's best friend. Double crap.


	10. Chapter Nine

_Chapter Nine_

_Note: Another note, I know, I'm sorry but I had to. Thank you to everyone for the reviews. They inspired me to write this chapter. Thank you for making my birthday that little bit brighter._

_Also, I'm really sorry this is so late. I've been busier than I thought I would be, and I didn't like where it was heading so I had to re-write it._

* * *

Sanna wasn't sure how the next few days had slipped past her without her notice. She'd managed to make sure no one else found out her secret, though Xander kept giving her strange looks. She didn't think he knew she wasn't Tash but he was probably thinking along the lines of demon possession, which might be a bit of a bother.

However, Xander had become the least of her problems when Mick kept trying to bring her out on patrol. She'd slipped out of it every time, mostly with the help of Connor and Angel. Angel had just told Mick he'd take her out and then sent her back to her room. Connor wasn't quite as nice. He decided as Dawn's daughter she should know how to kill a vampire, otherwise the next time she got kidnapped, she would be even more helpless than a normal human. It worried Sanna that he had said 'when', rather than 'if'.

So she wasn't in the least prepared when Mick stormed into her room in the middle of the night and dragged her from her bed. She squealed and slapped until he put a hand over her mouth. "T, shut up. We're patrolling. No excuses. Get dressed. I'll be waiting outside." He left just as quickly as he'd come and Sanna was left in the middle of the floor, breathing heavily as she tried to blink the sleep from her eyes. She glanced down at her pyjamas and blanched. She should really sleep in more than a tank top and underwear, especially when attractive young men made a habit of barging into her room.

She scrambled to Tash's wardrobe and grabbed a pair of jeans and a jumper to pull on over her pyjamas. She pulled her hair up into what had to be the smallest ponytail ever and pushed her wand through it. She rummaged and found her favourite sneakers she'd brought with her from the UK and shoved her feet into them. Mick made her nervous and whenever she was nervous, she rushed. She pulled open her door and yelped when Mick was right there.

"Stake?"

She pulled out her wand and smiled.

"Seriously. That's a twig."

"It's my wand. It will do."

Mick looked like he didn't believe her and Sanna couldn't help but share his doubt. She had a feeling he was going to have to pull her arse out of the fire at least once tonight. "Whatever. Come on, before Connor comes and ruins our fun. Again."

Sanna couldn't tell him that Connor had been doing her a huge favour when he'd 'ruined their fun'. But if she told him that, she'd have to tell him that she wasn't Tash and she wasn't about to let that happen.

Before she knew it, Sanna found herself in the passenger seat of Mick's car, sitting outside of one of the many cemeteries within LA. Mick was standing next to her open door, fingers tapping impatiently on the ledge. "You going to get out, T?"

She glanced out at the cemetery, seeing in it the shadows and potential danger, before looking back to Mick. He must have seen something in her face because he sighed and let his head fall to the door with a thump.

"I swear to Zeus, if you do not get out of this car and start acting like Tash again, I will not be held responsible for my actions."

"All right, all right, calm down, slayboy." She didn't move. She tried to get past the mental roadblock. She tried swerving around it, jumping over it, driving straight through it, but it seemed impossible. Her arms refused to undo her seatbelt and pull her body out of Mick's truck. Apparently, there was a part of her brain that was smarter than the rest.

Her arms were let off the hook when Mick reached in and did it all for her. She stood on the footpath and looked at the cemetery with trepidation. Mick didn't seem to be taking any chances because he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward it. Sanna let herself be dragged along for a moment but pulled her hand free when they reached the entrance and glared, ignoring the warm tingles that she'd felt at the contact.

"I am not incompetent."

"Then start acting like it." He stalked off towards the closest mausoleum and Sanna had no option but to follow him. Tash and their parents had better bloody appreciate this.

Up until this week she'd never been in a cemetery at night and after this was all over, she was hoping never to again. In the daytime, they were filled with memories and they were simply a way to feel closer to those who had passed on. Under the light of the moon, they were just downright creepy. She let Mick lead, hovering a step or two behind, eyes zipping from one place to the next, trying not to get caught off guard. She kept seeing things that weren't there, realising it was just a bush behind a gravestone or the silhouette of a monument. For a moment, she thought a demon was leaping out at them before seeing the angel statue dedicated to one Lucy Preston, who died at the age of 16. Sanna stopped in front of it. It was chilling to think that someone who was the same age as her had died. It didn't sit well with her at all. She really didn't like cemeteries.

"T?"

Sanna jerked out of her reverie to find Mick standing behind her, face expressionless.

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

"You're shivering."

"No, I'm not." It was a stupid thing to say but she needed to snap herself out of this strange mood. "Come on. I'm sure there's something we can find for you to hit."

"How right you are, sweetheart."

The two teenagers froze at the unknown voice. Together they turned slowly to find four vampires, all vamped out and ready for a fight. Mick stepped in front of Sanna and she wasn't going to argue, shrinking behind him.

"Awww, how cute. What, no quips? You kids these days are usually full of something you think is hilarious."

Mick stared down the one who seemed to be the leader, a grin spreading across his lips. "You know what's going to be hilarious? When I push you into that tree right there and you blow away on the wind to ruin someone else's night."

The vampire snarled and launched himself at Mick. The next few moments were a blur to Sanna. She vaguely remembered pulling her wand and hexing the one standing on the far right. She barely had time to register that he turned to duat before the next was on her, pushing her to the ground with a laugh that oozed slime down her spine. She struggled in vain to get him off her, to pull her wrists from his grip, to do _something_. All he did was laugh at her. She swallowed back the scream of terror that was clawing at her throat but she couldn't stop the frightened tears welling up in her eyes.

He laughed again, which only made her struggle harder. She was not going to let this happen. She refused. She was the daughter of a dragon tamer and she would not be bitten by some sleazy vamp in some cemetery. She tightened her grip on her wand and as he reared back to bite straight into her neck, she surged forward, pushing her wand straight into his chest. She felt his teeth graze her neck before he burst into dust all over her. She sighed in relief and accidentally inhaled, starting a coughing fit. She rolled over and resisted the urge to vomit. She pushed herself up onto all fours and glanced up to check on Mick.

He was fighting the leader. Sanna couldn't see the fourth vampire anywhere which probably meant he'd gotten the sharp end of Mick's stake. Sanna could only watch as the vampire kicked the stake from Mick's hand and delivered the uppercut to Mick's jaw. The boy stumbled but regained himself quickly. He sent a high kick into the vampire's chest, sending it hurtling back into the very tree Mick had pointed out earlier. Sanna saw the broken off branch pierce the vamp's chest and could almost see the breakdown of his body as he turned to ash.

Mick hadn't even stopped to watch. By the time the vamp was gone, he was already by Sanna's side, checking her over for damage, hands running over her shoulders and arms, his eyes everywhere else.

"T? You all right?"

She blinked at him and spoke very slowly. "I have vampire in my mouth."

Mick didn't do what she expected - he laughed. A full body laugh, which sent him falling back onto the grass, holding his belly.

"Hey," she snapped, cheeks blooming red. "It's not funny."

"You're kidding, right? That's gold. A class comedy. You haven't done that in gods know how long."

"Just shut up and get me some water," she grumbled, folding her arms where she sat.

He snickered, pushing himself to his feet and offering a hand to Sanna. "There's some in the car. Come on, I think you've had enough."

She let herself be pulled to her feet and dusted herself off, refusing to think what that dust had been five minutes before. Sanna couldn't remember the last time she'd been this embarrassed in front of a guy she liked. Scrap that, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been this embarrassed full stop. Tash was not hearing about this if Sanna had anything to do with it.

* * *

The next few days flew past faster than Tash could count them. It had gone unsaid between Charlie and her that they would not mention the dinner with Veronica for fear of starting a fight and saying something neither of them could take back. Tash still tried to spend as much time with him as possible but there was tension there that hadn't been before that stupid dinner with that annoying floozy. The whole avoidance thing was driving her nuts. She was used to the Scoobies who just knocked her off her high horse and went back to their business. All this moping and hiding had thrown her for a loop, and that in itself frustrated her. She wasn't used to it and she didn't know how to fix it.

The sleepover had done its best to distract her from her Charlie problems. It had gone well, or so Tash thought. There hadn't been any vampires to slay and no one had turned out to be a demon so she was suitably impressed. It could have been smoother, what with Tash stumbling over facts and Teddy running as much interference as he could. There was only so much he could do when her cousin Cassidy had started mouthing off. Tash hadn't wanted to hit someone as hard since... well, since she met Sanna. The only thing that stopped her from kicking Cassidy's ass was that Sanna and he usually got along. It bothered her that the animosity between them could have tipped someone off that something was wrong.

It was a week since Sanna and her had made the switch and rather than the elapsed time making reassuring Tash, it just made her more anxious. She refused to let her guard down. Who knew when the littlest thing came and along and blew her cover out of the water entirely? It was unlikely Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Molly were going to notice anything, considering how excited they were to have family in the house for longer than a weekend. She was only really worried about Charlie and Victoire, who was still hanging around the Burrow, which was still a mystery to Tash. She decided to get to the bottom of it. Mysteries didn't tend to end well for Scoobies.

Tash found her on the couch downstairs, sitting next to Grandma Molly's knitting. Tash didn't say anything at first, just settled down on the chair opposite. They both watched in silence as the needles brought a bright blue jumper to life. Well, the arm of one. Maybe it was a scarf.

"Hey, V," Tash started, keeping her tone light. "I thought after the sleepover you'd head home. Not that I'm not loving hanging out but I just wasn't expecting it, you know?"

Victoire sat unmoving, still staring at the knitting.

"V?"

She opened her mouth to say something but seemed to change her mind, hesitating. She sighed. "It's nothing."

Tash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that sure sounds like nothing."

"Really. I just would rather stay here. It's nothing."

Tash frowned, leaning forward. That really didn't sound like nothing. "V, come on."

"It's just Dom, all right? Sometime last year he obviously learnt how to be a real Slytherin because he's just being a... a tosser!"

"OK, OK. Fair enough. Do the parentals know?" Victoire gave her a strange look. "What?"

"The parentals?" She asked sceptically.

Right. Damn. "Your parents. Have you told them?"

Victoire snorted. "Yeah right. Like my dad could believe that Dominique is anything less than the perfect son."

"What about your mum then?"

The blonde shook her head. "I've told her but she says she can't do anything unless she knows for sure it's going on."

Tash made up her mind right then and there. "Right. We're going to invite dear old Dom down for a day. If the adults won't give out the punishments, we will."

Victoire said nothing, just stared at the knitting. Tash was sure it was going to be a jumper now.

"V, you on board or not?"

Her cousin seemed to have decided on something because she nodded decisively and met Tash's eyes. "I'm in."

Tash grinned wickedly, moving Victoire over and sat next to her, ideas flowing. "All right. Let's get planning, shall we?"

Charlie found them several moments later in the same spot, heads bowed, talking fervently, heads nodding and shaking and hands waving in the air. It always worried him when Sanna got that look in her eye. It always meant that someone had done something stupid enough to get on her bad side.

"Sanna?" He watched her freeze and plaster a fake smile on her face.

"Hey dad. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out for lunch. Just you and me. Maybe grab a few school things after."

Tash glanced at Victoire before nodding. Now that she had something to think about, hopefully it would keep her distracted from the problem itself. "Sounds great. We going now?"

"As soon as you're ready."

"OK, just let me go put some lip gloss on or something."

"Lip gloss? Sanna, you're not turning into a girl, are you?" Charlie looked worry.

Tash punched him lightly on the arm as she passed him. "Play nice or I'll tell Veronica you don't know what a girl looks like." She ran up to her room, masking his retort with the sound of her footsteps on the wooden stairs. She was hoping this was his way of getting past the whole dinner fiasco. It would be nice to talk to him without having that hanging over their heads.

* * *

The Romanian Weasleys burst into the Burrow, bringing a cacophony of screaming with them.

"Susanna Carmen Weasley, you're going to calm down right now."

"No, Dad, I'm not going to and you know why? Because you are making a huge mistake!"

"We're not going to have this argument."

"Really? Then what the hell do you call this? I'm pretty sure I would call this an argument."

"This isn't something you can veto, Sanna. This is my life and I'm making my own decisions."

"You're making the wrong ones!"

"I've thought about this, Sanna."

"You mean like you thought about divorcing Mum?"

The silence was deafening.

"Go to your room." Charlie's voice was deadly quiet.

"Dad-"

"Go."

"Fine. When you wake up one day in your little happily married life and find your bed and your wallet empty, don't come crying to me."

Tash sprinted up the stairs, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her feet slipped as she hit the first landing and she fell to the floor, banging her hands and knees before scrambling up, vision blurry. She slammed the door behind her, threw herself onto her bed and screamed as loudly as she could into her pillow.

_Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid man!_

She fumbled for her locket. "Sanna. Sanna, Sanna, Sanna, Sanna, Sanna."

"Tash, what's wrong? What happened? Why are you crying? Please stop crying."

"Why is he so stupid?!"

"Tash?"

"He's marrying that whore!"

It took all of two seconds for Sanna's face to drain of all it's colour before it returned with a vengeance, bringing with it an unstable look to her eye. "No, he isn't."

"Trust me, Sanna, I tried. It didn't work well."

"Stop crying, sistermine. We'll think of something."

"If Mom was there, she'd smack some sense into him. Goddess knows I've seen her do it."

"We just thought of something. I'm bringing Mum."

"Sanna, I'm not sure..."

"Don't worry, Tash. Just give me time to round up the cavalry."

Tash put her faith in her sister. "Hurry, San."

Sanna's holographic head nodded. "Hold on, Tash. We're coming."


	11. Chapter Ten

_Chapter Ten_

Sanna sat in silence in the moments after her frantic conversation with Tash. Despite her confident words to her sister, revealing everything to Dawn was probably going to take a bit of finesse if they wanted to be in England anytime soon. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to think of some way to spill the beans without causing an instant uproar. She snorted. Yeah, as if that was likely.

Picking up her wand, she went to the mirror and got to work. She did the incantation to reverse the voice charm and she copied the spell Tash had used on her hair to grow it long again. She changed into clothes she'd brought with her from home and she had to admit to herself, she felt more at east and more comfortable than she had for the last week. Her confidence newly regained, she braced herself to face the outside world.

Sanna was so anxious to get this over with and go help Tash that she practically ran downstairs. She almost flew down the steps leading to the atrium and headed straight for the office where she knew her mother was. Connor caught her eye and she nodded. However, miracle child or not, he didn't reach her until she was already through the door and standing in front of Dawn's desk. The woman in question looked wide-eyed up at her daughter and Sanna opened her mouth to say something and nothing but a squeak came out. Stupid nerves.

"Tash, honey. You all right?"

Sanna shook her head, speaking in her real voice in what felt like forever. "No, I'm not, Mum."

Dawn froze. Her eyes grew wider still and her jaw dropped. "What did you just say?"

"I said I'm not all right because I'm not Tash."

Dawn stood slowly up from her desk, glancing at Connor who simply nodded. Dawn looked back to her daughter, her other daughter.

"I'm not Natasha, I'm Susanna. Tash is at the Burrow. With Dad."

"Ch-Charlie? She's met Charlie?"

"And I've met you."

Dawn dropped back into her seat abruptly, propped her elbows up on the desk and rested her head in her hands.

"Mum?"

"You're Susanna."

"My friends call me Sanna."

"And, oh Goddess, you met Tash at summer camp, didn't you?"

"Right in one. We hated each other. She thought I stole her face. Can't say the councillors appreciated it much. She had a photo of you and Dad. We figured it out and we swapped. The swapping was her idea, just in case you were interested."

Dawn didn't say anything so Sanna kept speaking.

"We couldn't just leave, pretending we'd never met each other when you and Dad had seemed so adamant to keep us apart. We're _sisters_. My entire life I grew up thinking I was an only child, when all along I had a sister and a mother. Not to mention another aunt. Now I have two, which is pretty cool. Aunt Ginny will be happy."

"Sanna?" Dawn raised her head from her hands.

"Yeah, Mum?"

"Why are you telling me this now? You've been here a week and I can only assume you were going to keep this up for a little while longer."

"Aren't you angry?"

"Damn skippy I'm angry but I can't really blame you for it. After all, I got to meet you, didn't I? And don't change the subject. Why now?"

Sanna blinked back tears and took a deep breath. "'sgotitintohisheadthathe'!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, kiddo. Slow down. I got like the first word."

"Dad started dating Veronica Aubrey when I was at camp and now they're engaged. He yelled at Tash and now we have to go fix it and tell him to get his head in the right place."

Dawn's heart clenched in her chest. Charlie? He was... she couldn't even finish the sentence in her own head. For some reason, she had just assumed that he wouldn't date again. Goddess knew she never had. Charlie had always been charismatic though. Charming and funny and handsome and she was going to stop that train wreck of a thought before she started crying.

"Mum? Earth to Mum. You still there?"

"I'm here. It's fine. That's totally fine." Dawn blinked. Once, twice, a third time and Sanna was worried she'd broken her mother. She blinked a few more times and then seemed to snap out of it. "OK, well, I suppose we're going to have to switch you back."

Sanna grinned and nodded, excited at the prospect of seeing Tash and everyone at home again. She was at the door before Connor stopped her with a hand on the shoulder.

"Connor?"

"You should go talk to Mick."

Sanna nodded vaguely but ran up the stairs hoping to avoid the boy and the confusion he brought. Unluckily for her, he was waiting in her bedroom.

"Hey T, what's kicking?"

"Sorry Mick but I'm not Tash."

Mick simply nodded and continued on as if she'd said the sky was blue. "I was training with Buffy and-"

"Um, hello, did you hear me? I'm not Tash."

"Oh, I know."

"You _knew_?"

"Well, I mean, after the wackiness that was last night, I spoke to Connor, since you two seemed all chum-like and he explained it all."

Sanna huffed in indignation. "Does no one know how to keep a secret around here?"

"I'll let you in on a little tip. Secrets, mysteries, all that crap? Doesn't go down well with Scoobies. Or Scrappies."

Sanna didn't say anything. She didn't think she could. She leant against the closet, staring at the floor.

"So I figured you told Aunt D the sitch."

"My dad's engaged to someone else and we need to fix it."

Mick snorted. "Pretty sure you can't fix shit like that. Heart's gonna do what it wants."

Sanna laughed, mostly at herself than anything else. "Tell me about it. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. Tash wanted to but Clay and Rachael already knew and I thought it would be too many people."

"I really thought I was losing it, yo. You rocked up with C and Rach and you just weren't you."

There was silence between them and Sanna couldn't stop berating herself. This silly little crush had gone on long enough. She was going to be back in England cleaning up her dad's mess and she didn't need to be thinking about the mess in LA on top of it.

"Sanna." Sanna looked up and jerked back when Mick was standing right in front of her.

"Merlin! Mick, don't do that, you scared me half to death."

"Sorry 'bout that. And this."

"Thi-" She was cut off as he leaned in and kissed her softly. She gasped and he pulled back, only to bury himself in her neck. "Oh, that," she said, eyes wide as she stared at the shoulder of the strange boy currently hiding somewhere between her ear and her shoulder. "Well, I think I can find it within me."

Oh dear. This was not good. They lived on two different continents but his hands were currently wrapped around her and she had never been attracted to someone like this in her entire life and she really wanted this to work. Her mind was apparently a traitor.

"Mick?"

"Yeah?" He stepped away, looking no different than when he'd been sitting on her bed moments ago.

"I have to go downstairs. I... have to talk to Mum. I'm going back to England."

"Sure thing. I'll come with."

Sanna nodded shakily. "OK."

"Oh, and Sanna?"

"Yeah?"

"I like the accent."

Sanna blushed and slipped past him, heading downstairs, hoping to hide the hotness in her cheeks.

It turned out hiding was out of the question. While upstairs, Dawn had told everyone the situation. Sanna was grateful but at the same time, it meant she had to deal with the bombardment of questions from all sides. She tried to answer but they just kept overlapping and jumbling up in her head and it wasn't until Connor came and glared everyone away that they stopped. She smiled gratefully up at him and he simply ruffled her hair. She aimed a light punch at his arm, knowing she'd miss but surprisingly he stood still for it.

"Sanna?" Dawn stood in the middle of the atrium, an unsure smile on her lips. "We've got plane tickets for tomorrow morning."

Sanna went up and hugged her closely. Dawn returned it, tears returning. She never thought she'd get this opportunity again. Thank the Goddess for trouble-making daughters.

"I'll never regret this, Mum."

"Me neither, kiddo."

* * *

No one got any sleep between then and the time they had to leave the next morning. Dawn and Sanna spent most of that time in Dawn's room, catching Dawn up on what had been happening in England since she'd been gone.

"OK, so all of the Weasleys are married?"

"And have at least two kids a piece."

"Well that's not unexpected. I'm just surprised there isn't more."

"Well, Uncle George has four and so does Aunt Ginny but Aunt Gin's got one in the oven."

"And she married Draco Malfoy?"

"Oh yeah. Don't mention that to Dad or any of the uncles. Or even Grandpa Arthur. They've all accepted it but it still gets them riled on a bad day."

"I don't really blame them. From what I remember, Draco Malfoy was... well, he wasn't the nicest guy ever."

Sanna giggled. "He's a prick."

"Language. But yeah, that sounds about right. I suppose Gin keeps him in his place."

"Pretty much. But you want to know what you're not going to believe?"

"Oh Goddess, I shudder at the thought. What is it?"

"Harry married Pansy Parkinson."

"Pansy who?"

"Parkinson. You know, she used to follow Draco around. She switched sides with him in the war."

"Oooh. The one Ron and Hermione called pug-face?"

"That's the one."

"Wow. Harry married a Slytherin. I'm sure Ron and Mione were thrilled with that."

"Well, they weren't really but they were too busy with Sebastian to care much. But when Pansy got pregnant, now that was a doozy. I'm glad we live in Romania, let's just say."

Dawn sighed and stroked Sanna's hair, tucking it behind her ear. "I missed so much."

"I know. You won't anymore."

"We'll work something out."

Sanna wasn't too happy with that. "Why can't you say anything in definites?"

"Because if it was up to me, we'd all be together again but we have to work out what your father wants."

Sanna nodded, knowing in her heart that no matter what, Tash and her would not be separated again. Not ever.

"Well, come on. We have to leave for the airport soon."

"Mum, who's coming with us, exactly?"

"Connor, Faith, Mick and I think Clay and Rach are kicking up a fuss."

"Cool. Let's go."

* * *

The flight was long and boring and the only thing that really drew Dawn's focus off Charlie was her daughter and Mick try to be covert about whatever it is they thought they were doing. Mick was being very handsy, she noted, and she was going to have to sort that out... or she could just point it out to Faith. Guaranteed entertainment.

Dawn, Faith and Connor were sitting a row in front of Mick and Tash, while Rachael and Clay had ended up across from them. Dawn felt sorry for the people around them. The teenagers, while considerate, kept leaning over and whispering and giggling and teenage girls were never really quiet when put into a small space where conversation was possible.

About halfway through the flight, Sanna leant over the chairs and tapped Connor on the shoulder. "Hey Connor. Can you promise me something?"

"I'm not saying anything until I know what you want me to do."

"Not punch my dad."

Dawn punched him instead. "When did you say that?"

"I asked her to do it for me. I didn't think I'd actually be seeing him anytime soon."

"Connor, you're avoiding the topic. Can you please promise not to punch my dad? I like his face the way it is."

"Me too," Dawn added. Connor looked at the two, who were both staring at him with those big blue eyes and he just sighed and nodded wordlessly. Dawn ruffled his hair with a smile. Sanna patted his shoulder and sat back, startled when Mick's arm came around her shoulders. She looked at him leerily before removing it. Mick frowned until she laced her fingers through his with a shy smile. He settled into his seat, a smirk on his face.

* * *

Two cars from the Council were waiting for them at the airport. There was barely five minutes from when they landed to when they left for the Burrow. At this rate, Faith, Connor and Mick were going to kill someone when they got out at the other end. Rachael wasn't far behind either.

When they finally reached the Burrow, the seven of them got out of the Council car as quickly as possible. They were more than eager for a bit of stretching and fresh air. But all that was forgotten when they caught sight of the Burrow. Tall, rickety and, most important of all, Sanna's second home. Sanna felt herself relax.

"Shit," Mick said, eyes wide.

"Language," Dawn said absentmindedly, studying the old house for changes and seeing close to none. It was exactly the way she'd remembered it fifteen years ago.

Sanna couldn't bear the wait any longer. She broke into a sprint towards the front door.

"Sanna!" Dawn sounded more exasperated than angry but Sanna still didn't care. Tash was in there. Tash and Charlie and Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur and she had missed them.

She practically ran into the door, bracing herself on the frame before she slammed into it. She knocked on the door, out of breath. By the time it opened, everyone had caught up and Sanna could feel the reassuring presence of Mick at her side, which was a little disconcerting that she felt that way already. Victoire opened it and froze for a moment. She looked at Sanna, looked towards the stairs, back to Sanna, then at all the strange people with her.

"Sanna?"

"Hey Victoire. Is Dad here?"

"No, he's not but why are you here? You've been at Teddy's all day. You just went up to your room like five minutes ago."

"Actually, that's my sister, Tash. Victoire, meet my mum," Sanna said, grinning and pulling her mum to front of the group. Victoire's jaw dropped.

"This is Bill's daughter, right?" Dawn whispered to Sanna. She nodded and her mother smiled at her niece.

"Hey Victoire. Would you mind letting us in?"

"Ummm... Grandmere!" Victoire called back into the house. "Sorry, but you never know, right?"

Sanna rolled her eyes as her grandmother came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a tea towel. "Victoire, what... Sanna?" She stood fully in the door and her eyes widened unbelievably as she took in the crowd at her door. Or rather, who was in the crowd. "Dawn! Oh my dear, come in, come in. Victoire, what are you standing there for? Go put the kettle on, love. Go, go, go."

Victoire grinned at her cousin and went to do her grandmother's will. The Scoobies filed in, staring in awe at interior. Sanna couldn't keep the grin off her face.

"Shit," Mick repeated.

"Language!" Dawn and Molly called in tandem. The older woman smiled fondly at her ex daughter-in-law and drew her into a big hug. Dawn hugged her back and revelled in what had been the closest thing to a mother when she'd been in England.

"Grandma?" Molly pulled away and looked at her eldest granddaughter.

"Sanna?"

"Where's Tash?"

"Natasha, hmm? She's upstairs in... your room," Molly trailed off as Sanna was already taking the stairs two at a time, Mick, Rachael and Clay close at her heels. "Dawn?"

"They met at summer camp and switched on us. Tash came to you and Sanna came home with Rachael and Clay. She hasn't been too much trouble, has she?"

"A grandchild is always trouble. Now," she said, facing Faith and Connor. "Faith, isn't it? Motherhood suits you, dear." Molly drew Faith into a hug that the dark slayer looked extremely uncomfortable in returning. She may be reformed but that didn't mean she found accepting generosity any easier. "What about you, dear? I don't believe we've been introduced."

"This is Connor."

Upstairs, Sanna reached her door. "Tash! Tash!" She didn't bother knocking, pushing the door open and finding her sister curled up on her bed, head hidden in her pillow. "Tash?"

Tash broke off from her sulking and her head snapped up to see her sister standing in the doorway, her friends from LA behind her and suddenly she felt so much lighter.

"Mick!" She leapt up, straight into his waiting arms. Her tears started again and she hated it because she hated to cry but it was all right because Mick was here and so was Sanna and her mom and that's all that mattered. "I missed you. I hate this stupid plan. Can I go home now?"

Mick laughed and pulled away gently, checking her face and wiping the tears from her eyes. "Missed you too, T. Thought you'd gone nuts."

"I'm sure Sanna did just fine."

Tash caught the blush that stained her sister's cheeks. Mick had an odd smirk. "She did just fine."

Sanna hit Mick. Hard. "Don't be a tosser."

"Sanna."

"Tash."

The sisters collided and held each other close, whispering to each other as if no one else was in the room. Their three friends let it go on for a while longer before someone felt the need to do something about it.

"Right," Rach said. "As touching as this is, I believe we were summoned for a reason."

The twins pulled away from each other. Tash nodded, sniffing. "Dad's gone insane and thinks he's going to marry some stupid vapid woman who doesn't have two brain cells to rub together."

"Ouch. Geez, don't hold back or anything, T."

Tash huffed. "You haven't met her. She's horrible. She doesn't like kids or dragons, which are pretty much the two constants in Dad's life. The marriage is going to be over before you know it, Dad's wallet's going to be empty and his heart broken. It's not my fault if he can't see it."

"Don't worry, Tash. We'll fix it. That's what Mum's for."

"Mom." Tash wriggled between her friends and practically skipped down the stairs. "Mom, mom, mom, mom."

Dawn stopped and she had a moment where she couldn't tell who it was but when the girl ran into her and didn't let go, she knew instantly who it was. "Oh Tash, sweetie. You all right?"

Tash shook her head. "Missed you."

Dawn ran her hand through Tash's hair, still masquerading as Sanna. "I wish I could say the same but I didn't know I was supposed to, did I?"

"Oh please, Mom, like you wouldn't have done the same."

Dawn opened her mouth to object before actually considering it. When she didn't say anything, Tash laughed.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

"You sound weird."

"Right." Tash whipped out her wand and undid the charms on the spot, her voice then her hair. Dawn watched as her daughter returned to the one she remembered before her eyes. When it was done, she pulled her into another hug.

"That's my girl."

"What about me? I'm feeling very left out right about now," Sanna said from the stairs. Dawn opened her other arm and Sanna quickly stepped into it.

"There's my girls."

Tash and Sanna grinned at each other. This was more like it, but they had a job to do. "As cool as this is, Rach had a point. We're here for a reason."

Dawn sighed, a stubborn tilt to her mouth. Tash knew that look. It was almost as bad as Willow's resolve face. It never ended any other way than how Dawn wanted it. Except for that time when Tash was kidnapped, but that wasn't really her fault.

"Uh oh," Tash whispered to Sanna.

"That doesn't sound good."

"That's Mom's get what she wants face. Everything has to go the way she wants it. No questions, no comments, no buts."

"That's not fair."

"You're telling me."

"Tash, we can't just force your father to not... marry this woman," Dawn said, arms crossed. Boy, just saying marry had hurt. She really needed to get over this. "He's his own person and you can't run his life for him. Not everything ends like a fairytale."

Tash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, 'cos I was really expecting that. Mom, this is our lives. Nothing is ever like a fairy tale. Except for that one demon that was, but that doesn't count. The point is we're not asking you to break up Charlie and this woman, though that would be great, don't get me wrong. But if you and Charlie actually talk, you know, that whole communication thing that involves words spoken to each other, that could lead to, oh I don't know, me actually getting to spend time with my sister."

Dawn's expression softened but didn't dissolve completely. "Hun, I would love nothing more than that but really, it's up to your father."

"What's up to whose father?"

Everyone froze in their place as Charlie stood at the door of the living room, looking stunned at his two daughters standing side-by-side. Everyone that is except Dawn, who slumped to the ground in a dead faint.


	12. Chapter Eleven

_Chapter Eleven_

_Note: I am so sorry this is late again. A silly thing called life got in the way about halfway through. Now that I'm actually have somewhere to be most days, it might be going a bit slow but I have sworn to myself that I would finish this fic and I will. I'm almost done anyway. There should only be one, maybe two more chapters and an epilogue. Get excited, folks. =]_

_Also? Thank you so much the reviews. They're what pushed the last half of this out of my brain and onto the page.__  
_

* * *

"Crap!" Faith and Charlie both dived for Dawn at the same time and Faith slid under her just before her head hit the ground. Charlie was only a split second behind her, sighing in relief when Faith had her securely.

"Mom!"

"Mum!"

Charlie's head whipped up and his jaw dropped. Sanna and... It couldn't be. Of course Dawn was here so it would make more sense than it wouldn't.

"Natasha?"

"Hey Dad. Still not happy with you, FYI. Faith, is Mom all right?" Faith nodded and hoisted the unconscious Dawn up to Connor, who laid her on the couch.

Charlie stopped. "What do you mean not happy with me?"

Sanna and Natasha traded glances. Not good.

"Sanna?"

"I've been in LA this last week," she said, looking sheepish. "Tash has been here."

"LA? What?"

"You know that little thing I came back from, oh, one week ago? Let's just say it was a lot more interesting than I let on," Tash admitted.

"Camp? You met on camp?"

They nodded together. "Duh," Rach added sarcastically.

Charlie rubbed his hands over his eyes. This explained a lot. Sadly, it also brought up a whole lot of questions like what everyone was doing in his mother's living room.

"Grandmere, I have... the... tea. What happened?" Victoire put the tray down and gravitated towards the twins.

"Mum saw Dad and she fainted."

"You know, I don't think I can remember Mom ever fainting. Wow. Way to go, Dad."

"So, hold on." Charlie was still stuck back at the whole swap thing. "You've been here. You're the one who's been arguing with me and getting into fights with Cassidy and-"

"You got into a fight with Cass?" Sanna glared accusatorially at Tash.

"It was a verbal fight. I haven't punched anyone all week. Well, except for those garden gnomes but they deserved it."

Sanna laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry I missed that."

"Yeah, Teddy thought it was a hoot."

Charlie interrupted again. "Hey, we're still discussing this. How long did you think you were going to get away with it?"

"A while," Tash replied.

"Well," Sanna interjected. "I barely got away with it. Turns out we didn't factor in super smell."

Tash facepalmed. "Who got to you first? Connor or Angel?"

"Connor, who then told Angel. Before telling Mick. You know, Connor, you really suck at keeping secrets."

Connor just raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up."

Charlie gave up on trying to get a straight answer from them and let his gaze fall to Dawn. She really hadn't changed. There were a few more lines, mostly laugh lines, a few crow's feet at the corner of her eyes but she was still gorgeous. He tore his thoughts away. He was engaged now. Things couldn't just go back to the way they were. Things changed and as a rule, they didn't just magically change back.

"Well," Molly said, heading for the tea tray Victoire had brought it. "Who'd like a nice cuppa?"

* * *

Dawn awoke to the sound of laughter and the smell of tea. Her eyes blinked open slowly and she took in the sight of her daughters sitting with their friends, apparently gossiping. Faith, Connor, Molly and Charlie seemed to be having a more serious conversation, though by the way Faith was smiling and Molly was looking at her disapprovingly, she wasn't letting it get too serious.

Charlie was the first to notice her eyes were open. He froze, much like she had at first, and Dawn took the chance to really look at him. Goddess, he was still handsome. This would have been so much easier if he hadn't been such a wonderful person. She froze in turn when he made his way over. Neither noticed when the conversation died around them.

"Hey," he said, sitting at the edge of the couch.

"Hey yourself. Long time, no see."

He snorted at her attempt to lighten the mood. "You could say that. I see a hell of a lot of you in Sanna."

Dawn smiled. "She's wonderful."

"So's Natasha when she's not yelling at me."

"Yeah, Tash gets kinda shouty. I blame Buffy most of the time."

"Solid strategy."

"I like to think so." Dawn sat up, feeling the back of her head for any bumps. Oh Goddess, she'd fainted. That was embarrassing. "Sorry for fainting on you."

"Actually, you kind of fainted on Faith. But no problem. Can't say I blame you."

Dawn sent a gratuitous smile to Faith, who mock saluted her. "So, what are we going to do?"

Charlie sighed. "I don't think it's possible or a good idea to keep doing what we have been."

"No, I can't see that working out either. We could try joint custody, or something but I suppose they're only kids for another year."

"They'll always be kids," Charlie said with a smirk.

"Can I blame that one on your side of the family?"

"Oh yeah, Mione would get a good laugh out of that one."

Silence stretched between them. Dawn was trying her best not to jump into his arms and Charlie was trying not to think about anything, especially his now fiancée and his ex wife. His eyes widened. Oh crap.

"Ah, Dawn? How much do you know? How much has Sanna told you?"

"You're engaged," Dawn whispered, the first time she'd said it at all. Something heavy settled in Charlie's gut. It might have been guilt but he didn't want to look too closely at it.

He nodded. If it had been anyone else, Dawn would have laughed at the situation but it was her and this whole freaking mess was plucking tiny bits off her heart one by one and eating them. She didn't know she was crying until Charlie pulled her into a hug. Dawn wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shirt with a sob.

Molly took that as her cue to usher everyone out of the room. The twins complained but the matriarch of the Weasleys was firm until everyone was in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

Dawn shook her head. "No, it's fine. It-It's your life. You can live it how you want to. I can't-can't tell you what to do," she hiccupped.

He held her tighter. The only time he'd felt worse was the day she'd left England and he hadn't had the guts to go after her.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to pull away. She gave up when he wouldn't let her. "I didn't mean to cry all over you. It's just... overwhelming."

He stroked her hair and she sighed, reveling in the familiar gesture. Though how something could be familiar over a fifteen year gap was beyond her. It just felt right, but at the same time it was wrong. She gently removed his grip on her and placed his hands in his lap. He was engaged and it was wrong to sit here and expect him to comfort her. Even as it was, she couldn't meet his eyes.

"We can't separate them again, Charlie. They've only got another year of school left but I figure it's just best to ask them what they want."

Charlie desperately wanted to ask her what she wanted but he couldn't make the words form on his tongue. "You're right, of course. We can try a few things out and see how they work."

Dawn nodded, trying to restrain more tears. Goddess, she was a mess. "I mean, it's not like we can't visit or anything. I could contact the US Ministry and get connected to the Floo line in LA. That should make things easier."

Charlie laughed humourlessly. When Dawn frowned at him, he explained. "Nothing about this is easy."

"Well we have to do something."

"I know, I know. I'm just saying that whatever we choose to do, it's going to be a change and we'll just have to get used to it." He didn't really want to fight on the first day he'd seen her in fifteen years.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Let's just... figure something out. The sooner we do, the sooner everyone can get some sleep."

"Do you guys have anywhere to bunk down for the night?"

"We booked a couple of rooms at a hotel nearby. Or at least as nearby as you can get."

Charlie wanted to offer up somewhere to stay and Dawn wanted him to but they were adults now and they couldn't do the spontaneous thing anymore. This was bigger than either of them.

"Nonsense." The two of them started as Molly came back into the room, the twins slinking behind her. "I refuse to send family off to unknown parts when we have plenty of room right here." Dawn tried to argue half-heartedly but Molly interrupted her. "No, I won't hear of it."

Dawn and Charlie shared a look that did not go unnoticed by Tash and Sanna. The twins shared their own look and slipped out of the room to grin at the four who were standing behind them in the hallway.

"So?" Victoire asked impatiently. In the time Dawn had been unconscious, the others had brought her up to speed on the plan.

"We're all staying here tonight. From the looks of things, Mum and Dad haven't really settled on anything. Hopefully, it'll take a couple of days."

"I doubt it. The adults are going to be needed back in LA soon. Connor and Faith, at the very least."

Rach nodded. "But we can stay here with you lot for as long as it takes."

Mick nodded emphatically. He'd be damned if he wasn't there for both of them.

"All right, you lot," Charlie said, coming around the corner. "Upstairs. Tash and Rachael, was it, in Sanna's room. Sanna and Victoire in Victoire's room. Boys in Bill's old room. Sanna can show you where it is." When Tash rolled her eyes, Charlie pointed a finger at her. "Don't you roll your eyes at me. I've seen the looks between those two and there'll be no sharing rooms while I'm here."

"Oh please," Sanna said. "Like you noticed. It would've been Grandma Molly or Mum who noticed and made a point of mentioning it." She patted his hand to soften the sting. He ruffled her hair and nudged her toward the stairs.

"Go on. From what I hear, you haven't slept since yesterday LA time. You could all do with a sleep." As much as the teenagers wanted to argue, he was right. It was late in England and Sanna hadn't slept at all since revealing their plan to Dawn.

"Fine, but only because you asked nicely," Tash said sweetly. The group went to make their way upstairs but Tash turned around again and ran into Charlie's arms for a hug. "I just wanted to do this and have you know it's me you're hugging."

Charlie smiled sadly at her. "It doesn't change a thing. Now quit stalling. I'll be here in the morning."

Tash snorted. "Correction: we'll be here in the morning. You'll be in bed with the covers over your head."

Without another word, she rejoined the others and they actually finished walking up the many steps to their rooms. Sanna showed Mick and Clay where Bill's old room was, up on the flight above theirs. Mick kissed her quickly on the lips with a grin before Clay dragged him through the door. Sanna shook her head and hurried back to her room, where the girls were sitting on the bed, chatting.

"So, how are we going to get rid of Veronica Aubrey?" Tash asked as Sanna joined them.

"You could just be your charming selves," Rachael offered.

Victoire laughed. "You could always ask Draco. He's good at being annoying."

"That's not the word that I'd use," Sanna laughed.

"Come on, guys. We come from two of the strangest families in the world. This should be easy as."

"We should have brought Spike," Rachael lamented. "He could have just eaten her and be done with it."

"We're thinking the wrong way," Sanna said. "You're trying to get Veronica to get rid of herself. All we have to do is prove to Dad that he made the wrong choice and cancel the wedding."

"I think Dad's halfway there all ready. You saw the way he was making with the eyes at Mom."

"You know what I think?" They looked at Victoire, who stretched and yawned. "I think it's time we all went to bed. No one's going anywhere tonight and we can just keep at it in the morning."

"Do you guys mind sharing?" Sanna asked, glancing at Victoire and Rach.

"Not particularly. We're just going to be sleeping, after all."

Rachael nodded in agreement. The two girls left and the twins looked at each other. Sanna smiled at her sister and that was all it took for Tash to burst into tears again. They collided, arms going around each other, and Tash hid her face in Sanna's shoulder. Neither of them said a word as Tash let out her pent up feelings. The last fourteen days had been extremely trying and emotionally draining for both of them, but at least Dawn hadn't been a royal pain in the butt. Not only had Charlie been extremely stubborn on the issue of Veronica but Tash, who hadn't known what she was hoping for but knowing it wasn't that, was left feeling unwanted and abandoned on top of it all.

When she was feeling better, or at least like she could hold herself together, they separated and sat next to each other on Sanna's bed. "I'm sorry," Tash said quietly.

"For what? There wasn't anything you could do about Charlie."

"Actually, I was talking about weeping like a little girl but yeah, I'm sorry for that too."

Sanna punched her in the arm. "Don't be an idiot. You can't fix stuff like that," she said, remembering Mick's words back in LA. "The heart will do what it wants."

"Speaking of hearts, what's going on with you and Mick, huh?"

Sanna blushed, heat rising from her neck to cover her face and ears. "It's... I'm not entirely sure what it is, exactly. I know I like him and I'm almost positive he feels the same."

"Almost positive?"

Sanna blushed harder. "He may or may not have kissed me."

Tash squealed. "Oh my gosh, no way!" She paused before making a strange face that Sanna couldn't decipher.

"What's wrong? You don't approve?" Dread squeezed Sanna's heart tightly before Tash's light slap banished it.

"No, silly. Of course I approve by I just realised I was thinking about my sister and my best friend kissing. Gross, much?"

Sanna laughed in relief. "Well, we'll try not to be that way in front of you."

"Please and thank you. So how was LA?"

"Amazing. I didn't actually meet a whole lot of people, just Mum and the Scoobies. I have to say, it was a lot easier having Connor and Angel as the cavalry."

"I still can't believe we didn't factor in super smell. I feel so stupid."

"Yes, well, just be thankful that they agreed to help. Imagine if they'd gone straight to Mum with it."

"Oh Goddess, that would have been a mess. I wouldn't even have met my cousins."

Sanna paused. "You remember the part where I told you they were just the eldest, don't you?"

"Duh. Though to be honest? It's still kinda wiggsome. I'm not used to having a bajillion relatives."

"There's not a bajillion. There's only 19... There's only 20 of us," Sanna said, smiling.

"Oh wow, I pushed us over the 20 mark."

"Don't worry, if it hadn't been you, Ginny's kid would have."

"Oh right, the Malfoy spawn."

"Merlin, you have been hanging out with Teddy and Victoire, haven't you?"

"Who, by the way, would make the cutest couple ever. Apart from you and Mick that is."

"Oh, hush." Sanna was still a little in denial about that. She just couldn't believe that someone like Mick could even be remotely attracted to her. She was sure that he'd turn around and have a change of heart.

"You know he's the best person ever, right?"

"Right. But anyway, I think we should actually get some sleep." They looked at each other before bursting into giggles.

"Yeah right."

* * *

Dawn woke up after what felt like only five minutes of sleep. She contemplated going back to sleep but knew that the day ahead of her probably deserved a bit of preparation. She peered out the window and saw the sun just peeking over the horizon. She sighed and went about getting ready for her day. She was currently residing in Ginny's old room, which was about as far from Charlie's as she could get, thankfully. She couldn't have said what she'd done if she'd needed to pee in the middle of the night and had 'accidentally' run into Charlie. It probably would not have helped the situation at all. Remembering what they'd been like when they'd been married, she could probably say with certainty that it probably would have made things a lot worse.

After showering and dressing, she tied her long hair back into a plait and went downstairs to check on her girls. Her girls. Goddess, that still took a lot of getting used to. She opened the door slowly, knowing some of these doors had a habit of squeaking rather loudly. She ducked her head in and her heart melted a little at the sight before her.

One bed in the room was empty. In the other, Tash and Sanna lay side by side, facing inwards and holding hands. They looked so happy and at peace, like they were meant to. For Dawn, it just reinforced the need for them to spend as much time together as possible, and she still didn't know what that meant or how to go about it. She didn't want to take both girls away from Charlie but she didn't want to let go of them either.

She sighed, closing the door softly. She leaned her forehead on the wood and fought back tears. Not for the first time, she wished there was someone who could tell her what to do, to point the way. She wished her mother was still alive. She had the strongest urge to curl up next to her and have her belly rubbed. She stood up straight. No. She was 35, for Goddess' sake. She needed to act the mother this time. With another glance at the closed door, hiding the two girls from her view, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. May as well help Molly with breakfast while she was up.

* * *

The smell of bacon and eggs cooking woke Charlie from a sleep filled with troubled dreams. He rolled out of bed and only years of practice saved him from falling straight to the floor. He stretched and rubbed blearily at his face. He stumbled to the shower and back out ten minutes later, still looking tired but alive at least. He dressed and went to walk out the door but he hesitated at the door of Percy's old room, which he'd spent the night in. His ex-wife was out there. So were his two daughters.

He thumped his head against the door. It caused his thoughts to falter for a moment so he repeated the movement a few more times, just as a small reprieve. He'd been tossing and turning all night, trying to find a way around this whole mess and he couldn't. He wanted his girls to be happy, he wanted Dawn to be happy, but despite everything he still cared about Veronica. Probably not to the extent that he should but he cared about her and he knew this problem would hurt her.

He growled and threw open the door, frustration giving him the courage needed to move past the physical barrier. Of course, that same frustration left him standing helplessly at the first floor landing, concerned about what lay at the bottom of the stairs. Not afraid. He wasn't scared, simply concerned, but he knew that last night had sent them spiraling onto a path that could either end well or, more likely, in complete and utter disaster.

Giggling broke him out of his reverie. He turned and saw Sanna and Tash coming quickly down the stairs, skipping every other step.

"Careful," he called.

They glanced up and grinning, they skipped the last three to land in front of him.

"Wotcher Dad," Tash said.

"Hey, that's my line," Sanna pouted.

Charlie laughed and pulled an arm around each of their shoulders, leading them downstairs. Now that he had one on either side, he could tell the difference. Tash had just a bit more muscle than Sanna, probably from the lifestyle that she'd led in LA, and Sanna was just that bit taller.

They walked into the kitchen to find Molly and Dawn bustling about, working around each other to get breakfast ready for the number of visitors. Faith and Connor were nowhere to be seen but Clay and Victoire were sitting awkwardly next to each other at the table. Sanna and Tash immediately joined the two at the table but Charlie was stuck in the doorway, staring at the ease with which his ex-wife interacted with his childhood home. He still didn't move as Rachael and Mick joined the children at the table, though he glared when Mick sat a little too close to Sanna for his liking.

A hand on his shoulder distracted him from lecturing the boy in his head. He turned slightly to see his father smiling sadly at him. "Hey Dad."

"They grow up quick, don't they?"

"It seems like forever when you're that age," he agreed. "Ginny didn't grow up this fast, did she?"

"Fast enough that I'm still not sure she should have grown children." Both men dutifully ignored the man the baby of their family was married to. It was an unspoken agreement between all of the Weasley men that Ginny's husband was to be referred to as thus and was not to be mentioned unless brought up by someone else first. It frustrated Ginny but it was the only way that her husband was able to live free from rampaging Weasley brothers.

Both men were silent as they watched the picture in front of them. Finally when breakfast was ready, Molly snapped.

"Oh for goodness sake, will you two come into the room and sit down properly? It's plain unnerving having you standing there without a word."

Both Arthur and Charlie had the grace to blush and went to do what the matriarch of the family commanded, though Charlie met an unsure Dawn's eyes. It almost froze him in his tracks but the glare of his mother kept him moving. Instead of sitting down, he approached Molly cautiously.

"Do you need help setting out breakfast?"

Molly softened and pressed a plate of fresh toast into his hands. He did his job and returned to see Molly conspicuously busy at the stove. He turned hesitantly to Dawn who was looking down at the bowl of eggs as if they had betrayed her in some way.

He swallowed audibly, aware that everyone at the table had stopped to watch the proceedings. "Dawn?"

She smiled, eyes too bright. She offered him the bowl and when he went to take it, their hands brushed. Neither let go and it was in that position that Veronica Aubrey entered the kitchen.


	13. Chapter Twelve

_Chapter Twelve_

The kitchen was still. Nobody moved, the bowl of scrambled eggs sitting in between Charlie and Dawn's hands like a benediction and an accusation all at once. Veronica stood at the door uncertainly, glancing nervously between the stunned two, unsure of this new development. Sanna and Tash shared an undecipherable glance and nodded once to each other.

This seemed to break the spell over them and Dawn dropped the bowl, stepping away from both it and Charlie. Charlie put it on the table and went to Veronica.

"Hey," he said, kissing her cheek. She returned it out of habit, still looking a little shell-shocked. "I didn't realise you were coming over."

"We talked about it yesterday, remember? You weren't at the cottage so I came here to check." Her eyes didn't rest on Charlie at all. They flitted about the kitchen, eyeing its occupants. They seemed to keep going back to Dawn.

"Shit," Charlie cursed his lapse in memory.

"Language," Dawn muttered from the other side of the table where she was standing behind Mick and Sanna. Charlie couldn't help but notice she looked like she was about to be sick.

"I'm Veronica," the other woman said. She seemed hesitant to enter the room at all.

"Dawn Summers."

Veronica's expression didn't change so Dawn had to surmise that she had either come to this conclusion on her own or she didn't know her name.

Tash was feeling particularly cruel today. "Mom, I'm going to wake up Connor and Faith."

"You will do no such thing, missy. Sit back down." They could see the moment where Veronica registered the presence of both girls. Her eyes widened and by the look on Charlie's face, the subject had not been brought up yet.

"Charlie?"

"Let's go outside and I'll explain everything."

Veronica nodded, turned on her heel and left the kitchen before anyone could say anything else to upset her worldview even more.

Dawn groaned and sat down in the closest chair. "Tash, is it Tuesday?"

"Must be 'cos it isn't Thursday."

Charlie didn't hear anything else as he followed Veronica out onto the porch. She was leaning against the porch railing, arms folded, looking insecure. He put an arm around her shoulder and she didn't move. He guessed it was better than shunning him completely.

"So that was Dawn. She's pretty."

"I'm sorry, Ronnie. I didn't know she was here until last night. She popped up suddenly with Sanna and-"

"Wait, Sanna? But Sanna was at dinner."

There was a pause as Charlie considered his next words carefully. "I wasn't entirely truthful when I said I had one daughter. I have two. They were twins. Before you say anything, until last week I hadn't seen Natasha since she was 1. They swapped when they met at summer camp."

Veronica didn't say anything and Charlie couldn't help but think that she was handling all of this very well.

"So Natasha was at that dinner?"

"Yep. Sanna's been in LA with Dawn since they got back."

"Did Dawn know?"

"No, she was just as clueless as us. Sanna told her because..." Charlie frowned. "Actually I'm not sure why Sanna told her."

Veronica was quiet again and it was starting to frustrate him.

"Ronnie, will you say something?"

"Like what, Charlie? Yes, I'm hurt you didn't tell me that you had another daughter and yes, I wish you had. What else is there? Please tell me, because I don't know what to say exactly."

Charlie ran through his hair in frustration.

"I get that you're confused," the woman next to him said quietly. "Everything's been tipped on it's head and it can probably only get worse before it gets better."

"Ronnie?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think..." He growled and plowed on. "I don't think... 'us' is a good idea. At least not at the moment. I don't know what's going to happen with the girls but I know that I can't concentrate on everything all at once. It's too much."

She nodded, gently displaced his arm from around her shoulders, and stood in front of him, meeting his eyes for the first time since she arrived in his mother's kitchen. "I think... I think it's a good idea but Charlie, I think we should cancel the wedding."

His brow furrowed. "What...?"

Tears appeared in Veronica's eyes. "I don't think we should get married. I think we should just finish this right now."

Charlie tried to pull her into a hug but she shook her head, stopping him.

"I love you, Charlie. I know that we're different and that we aren't two peas in a pod but I do, and this thing has obviously left you feeling conflicted and torn and I have a feeling I'm not going to come out of this with a ring on my finger either way so I'm ending this now."

"Ronnie..."

She kissed him chastely on the lips, slipping her engagement ring into his slack hand. "I'll owl you in a few days."

He nodded sadly. "Take care of yourself, Ronnie."

He didn't watch as she moved off the porch but he heard the crack as she Apparated away. He stood there for who knows how long, thoughts paused, staring at the brick of his childhood home, blissfully unaware of the world. He had a strange emotion pressing in on his chest but he didn't want to examine it at the moment. He could leave that for another time.

"Daddy?" He hadn't heard the door open.

"Yeah?"

"Are you all right? Breakfast is getting cold."

"Right."

There was a hesitation and Sanna wrapped her arms around one of his. "Where's Veronica?"

"She left. The engagement's off."

"I'm sorry." She genuinely was, he could tell. He raised his free arm and cupped the back of her head, kissing the top of it.

"Thanks, sweetheart."

"Dad? Can we go inside now? I like my bacon hot."

He contemplated what was awaiting him inside and decided that he could risk it, if only for the girl currently wrapped around his arm. "Let's go. We wouldn't want you to have to reheat your bacon."

"You know it tastes gross when you have to reheat it."

"It tastes the same, love."

"No, it really doesn't. All those dragon burns have affected your taste buds."

"Whatever you say, squirt."

* * *

The rest of the day went by quietly, Charlie the quietest of them all. Faith and Connor were making plans to get back to LA and they had long since given up the idea that anyone else would be joining them. The teenagers had been adamant that they would be here to support the twins and Dawn. No one had any clue as to whether Sanna or Tash would be coming back to LA in the end and by the way that Charlie studiously hid from everyone, it didn't look they would figure it out anytime soon.

When Charlie didn't appear for lunch, Tash decided that she would find him. She didn't find him inside the Burrow and when she went outside, all she found was Faith enjoying a cigarette by the side of the house. Molly had already told her under no uncertain circumstances that she did not like leaving the kitchen window open only to have a cloud of smoke billow in.

"Faith?"

"Hey little T. Found your dad yet?"

"I'm starting to think he went home. I can't find him anywhere."

"That's what I'd do."

"Faith? Did you know my dad? You know, before this whole shamozzle."

"Yeah, only met him once, though. Me and your Aunt B were at the wedding. G-Man flew us over and back again. We looked killer in those dresses, yo."

"Did you see it? That Mom and Dad weren't going to last?"

Faith took another drag and let it out again before she answered. "All I saw was that D looked happy. Charlie-boy too."

Tash leant against the side of the house and slid to the ground. "Why can't they just get back together?"

"Shit doesn't work that way, T. People mess up, it's how we roll."

"People are stupid, then."

"You're telling me," Faith muttered. "All right, I'm going back inside. Don't get yourself into trouble, a'ight? I'm not pulling your ass out of the fire." They both knew she'd do it in a heartbeat but they left it there, in mutual agreement. Tash would try not to do anything stupid and Faith would follow her and kick ass if need be.

Tash absently thought that if growing up meant you weren't happy then she'd rather be considered a child for the rest of her life.

* * *

Charlie reappeared for dinner, having freshly showered and changed. No one spoke about why he'd gone and where, leaving him to stew silently until Dawn approached him after the meal. They disappeared outside, and the moment the door closed, Sanna threw down the tea towel she was drying dishes with and Tash poked her head out of the sitting room and they crept out the back door to follow them.

The two adults hadn't spoken yet, instead walking off towards the road. They obviously wanted privacy. Sucked to be them.

"Charlie, we can't do this to them." Dawn decided to cut right to the chase.

"I know. Trust me, I know, but what can we do?"

There was a frustration filled pause as the parents tried to figure something out. The girls moved as close as they could without being immediately obvious and settled in to wait.

"Who's to say that we can't stay where we are? I mean, it's not ideal but if we can't come up with something, we can make it work," Charlie said.

"If I get the Hyperion hooked up to the Floo system, it'll be easier to travel."

Tash was ready to cry out in dismay. This isn't what was supposed to happen! Why did adults have to mess everything up?

"Dawn..." Charlie had had enough of crying women to last him a lifetime, thank you very much.

"Don't you dare ask me if I'm crying, Charles Weasley. I can cry all I damn well like."

"I was just going to say that everything will sort itself out."

Dawn snorted. "Yeah, right. Hello, have you met me? Pretty sure my entire family attracts disaster. The only way anything ever turns out right is through a buttload of sacrifice."

"Isn't fifteen years enough sacrifice?" He asked quietly.

That stunned Dawn into silence.

"Dawn, I think-"

"We can't, Charlie." A meaningful look between them spelled out exactly what she meant to the twins. Their parents were not getting back together.

Frustrated tears leaked out of the corners of Sanna's eyes. This whole stupid week had been for nothing. This whole ordeal to reunite their parents had failed fantastically. What a waste of time. Her thoughts shuddered to a halt when a hand slid into hers and squeezed. She looked at Tash and saw the exact same feelings shining out of her eyes. Sanna felt the need to correct herself. No, it wasn't a waste of time. She had finally met her mother, her aunt and the myriad of people who had attached themselves to the Summers women. She'd met the sister she'd never known she'd had. Of course this wasn't a waste of time. She squeezed back.

"I'm sorry," Dawn said, interrupting her daughters' epiphanies. "I know this ruined your relationship with Veronica but we can't put the girls through that emotional rollercoaster." She took a deep breath. "I can't go through that emotional rollercoaster. If anything happened again... I'm sorry, Charlie."

Tash and Sanna snuck away as quietly as they came, trying to swallow the overwhelming feelings in their guts. They didn't even bother going through the back door. They opened the front door to hopeful faces and they shook their heads, walking past the others and upstairs to Sanna's room.

They collapsed on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

"I can't believe it," Tash whispered.

"They were making things so complicated."

"It's Mom's fault."

"I didn't hear Charlie complaining."

"At least they said they wouldn't keep us apart."

"What, for the few weeks before we go back to school and won't see anyone until Christmas? That was really charitable of them," Sanna muttered sarcastically.

"I hate this." Tash sat, then stood up. "I hate them for doing this to us. I hate this whole stupid situation." She drove her hand into the wall, looking in satisfaction at the hole in the plaster, even as pain radiated up her arm at the jarring impact.

"What was that for? The wall didn't do anything to you," Sanna said, coming over to inspect the child of her sister's stupidity, feeling a little squeamish at the little cuts on her knuckles.

"It was looking at me funny." Sanna just gave her an exasperated look.

"Come on, Grandma Molly will know if it's bad."

They trudged back downstairs and found Molly looking morosely at her knitting. "Grandma?"

"Yes? Oh dear," she said, taking one look at Tash's hand which Sanna was holding gingerly in two of hers. She tutted and she gently prodded it to gauge Tash's reactions. She pulled her wand from her knitting basket and muttered a spell over it. Tash felt a gentle coolness soothe her hand and sighed in relief. "It wasn't too serious but it'll be sore for the next few days. I don't think it would be wise to use it too strenuously."

"Thanks Grandma."

"Now, do I need your father to take a look at whatever you took offence to?"

"The plaster in Sanna's room is a little cracked."

"How much is a little?" The reproach in Molly's eyes was clear.

"There might a be a hole?" Tash smiled at her hopefully.

The scolding was interrupted by Dawn and Charlie re-entering the house. Tash pushed her hand behind her back, away from her parents' prying eyes. No need to let them know that the twins realised what was happening. Dawn went upstairs while Charlie sat the furthest away from everyone else in the sitting room. Molly did not miss the glares the girls were giving him. It was then that she guessed just why there was now a hole in Sanna's room.

"Upstairs, you two." They opened their mouths to object but as soon as Molly raised an eyebrow, they scampered up the stairs, glancing back to make sure Charlie wouldn't up and leave again.

"Charlie?"

"Don't, Mum."

"Making mistakes is what makes us human, dear. Making them twice makes us a fool." Molly took her knitting basket out with her as she too, disappeared up the stairs, leaving Charlie alone in the empty sitting room.

* * *

That night, as everyone succumbed to sleep, Dawn went to check on her girls. They were lounging on the floor, chatting. "Hey Mum."

"Mom, what's up?"

Dawn's heart ached but she smiled and closed the door softly behind her. "We're probably leaving tomorrow."

Tash opened her mouth to argue but Sanna nudged her in severely in the calf with her foot. Tash glared at her but Sanna spoke up instead. "When will you have the Floo set up?"

"I just talked to Willow. She'll contact them tomorrow. You guys will be the first to know, I promise. She's also coming to get us tomorrow. We're taking the Willow Express back."

"Who's coming with us?" Tash asked, despite Sanna's vicious glare.

"Tash..."

"No, Mom, explain to me why I have to leave my sister behind. Again."

"Natasha, not now."

Tash stood up, glaring at her mother. "Yes, now. You have no right to keep us apart!"

"I'm not trying... That's not what this is about. This is about trying to make this work and right now, it isn't working so we're trying something different. We will keep trying until we settle on something so don't, don't you dare accuse me of trying to keep you apart. Do you think I enjoyed having to leave Sanna behind? Do you think I just loved having the British Ministry of Magic telling me I could only take one child? You don't know everything so hold your tongue."

Tash's anger was forgotten in the wake of Dawn's. The older woman stood there, chest heaving, trying to swallow back tears as her daughters looked at her, confused.

"Mom..."

"Not right now. Get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning." Dawn turned and left, slamming the door behind her.

"I'm an idiot."

"Maybe, but it's genetic." Tash snorted humourlessly and let her feet carry her towards the bed. Her knees folded and she fell listlessly to the mattress.

"I just want everything to work out, San. All this dancing around each other is stupid."

Sanna didn't say anything but went to hug her sister close.

* * *

There were tears in Sanna's eyes as she watched Tash knock on Charlie's door. They were leaving as soon as they said their goodbyes. Leaving again.

"Dad? Dad, can I please come in? We're going back."

Silence greeted Tash's plea. Sanna heard the growl before she saw Tash kick the door.

"Fine. Just keep hiding because that fixes everything, doesn't it? I'm sick of this whole thing and I just wanted to say goodbye but now I don't want to. Stay in your stupid room, for all I care."

"Tash?" She whipped around to find Charlie walking down the stairs. "Did the door say something to upset you?"

"Oh."

"I was just saying goodbye to your mum."

"Oh."

"C'mere." Tash dashed into Charlie's open arms, clinging with all her strength. "It'll be fine, I promise. Willow said the Floo's getting set up in a couple of days and you two can come and go as you please." Tash nodded, trying to hold back the tears that had been her constant companion since she had arrived in England.

"I'll still miss you."

"Come on, it'll only be a few days. Chin up."

Tash was able to summon a watery smile for him and he smiled back.

"See? Not so bad. You might want to go get your mum, then, if you're ready to go."

"I'm not sure ready's the right word."

"Go," he urged, pushing her gently toward the stairs. "And don't think we've forgotten about that hole in the wall. You're going to have to come by later and help me fix it."

"That had better be a promise."

"If you want it to be."

Tash found her mother sitting in the middle of the bed, meditating with tear-stained cheeks. She waited until Dawn relaxed and opened her eyes. "Mom?"

"Ready to go, hun?"

"If you are."

Tash couldn't see a hint of humour in Dawn's smile. "Ready as ever."

They met with the others in the sitting room. Willow chatting happily to Sanna, since they hadn't really spoken to each other when she'd been in LA. Sanna was still fascinated with Wiccan magic, much to Charlie's dismay. If she kept it up, the next year at Hogwarts could be _very_ interesting.

"Hey Tash. You ready to take the Willow Express?"

"As long as it's smoother than last time. I'd rather not end up in the fountain again."

"Nope, got it all worked out. Even have a spot cleared in the atrium for us."

"Cool beans."

Sanna stood slowly from the couch and Tash fought hard to stop her face from falling dramatically. Sanna looked like someone had kicked her kneazle. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Well, I suppose I could Floo in a couple of days. You know, just to check that Dad isn't trying to drink the table under itself." Charlie looked like he wanted to protest but Molly nudged him harshly.

"And I guess I could come over to see Mum's getting enough sleep."

"I'll see you then."

"You betcha," Sanna said, mimicking the Americans' speech pattern.

Sanna was the first one to crumple, but Tash followed soon after. They knew that it would only be a few days but the last two weeks had been so intense, the thought of them getting separated again was just a bit too much.

Dawn was loathe to pull them apart but if they didn't leave now, then her resolve might break and they might move to Romania instead. "Tash?"

"Yep, I'm good. Nothing wrong here." As she pulled away from Sanna, she tapped her chest, exactly where her locket still rested. Sanna smiled for what must have been the first time today.

"See you soon, Tash."

"Right back atcha, sis." Everyone moved outside where Willow had marked their departure spot with a circle, large enough to fit everyone.

"Now remember, keep your limbs inside the circle and don't distract me."

Everyone from LA stood inside the circle, Tash as close to the border as possible with Sanna on the other side. As Willow said a word and gestured, a strong wind rose up out of nowhere and blew dust into everyone's eyes. Just as they were blinking them open again, the people in the circle were gone and Sanna felt the worse for it.


	14. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

Charlie sat on a chair in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, wringing his hands nervously. Remus and Tonks were sitting beside him and he could see Oliver Wood and his ex wife, Viola trying to avoid each other a few rows up. Molly and Arthur were chatting happily on the other side of the Lupins. Today was Sanna's graduation. A whole year since that summer camp fiasco and another year of receiving owls telling him that Sanna was getting caught duelling in the corridors outside of classes. He suppose he wouldn't have minded if she hadn't kept getting caught. He should have let Fred and George have a word with her, at the very least. It had become abundantly clear that he couldn't stop it so he should have made it so he didn't get notified every time it happened.

However, the day itself was not the sole reason he was so nervous. It was only one of the causes. He was waiting for the other to come walking through the door, which he glanced at every other minute. Sanna had told him she'd owled Dawn and Tash and asked them to come too. Tash had graduated the week before and Sanna had received special permission to attend. It was still a little off-putting to see them together, he had to admit. It always took him a moment to realise that they were both there.

After ten minutes of watching the door anxiously, he was rewarded to see it open and emit Dawn and Tash. He couldn't help but admire the way his ex-wife looked. He pushed it to the back of his mind though when he caught her looking around for him. He raised his hand and waved, but faltered when he saw Buffy, Willow, Faith, Mick and Clay follow them inside.

Dawn caught sight of his hand and directed everyone in his direction. They were lucky it was still early and there was plenty of seating around. He smiled as Tash practically skipped down the aisle and slid into the seat next to him, smiling happily up at him. "Hi Daddy."

"Hello sweetheart. How's LA?"

"Freaking hot. I like here, it's nice and cool. Can I move here?"

"Ask your mother." He paused when Dawn caught up to them. "Dawn."

"Charlie. Sorry about the entourage, but they didn't want to miss it. Mick was especially loud about it."

Charlie snorted derisively. Despite the distance, Sanna and Mick had kept up a rather strenuous relationship. At least it was strenuous for their owls, if not for their studies. However, he had to say that they seemed to have pulled it off rather well.

"And I'll be right back. I promised Buffy I'd re-introduce her to Oliver."

Charlie frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Not at all, but I promised and she pulls hair."

"I think Mom just wants everyone to be happy," Tash said quietly to him as they watched her lead Buffy away. "Which one's Oliver?"

Charlie pointed him out and Tash had a thoughtful look on her face. "What's that look for?"

"He's kinda cute."

Charlie looked disgusted.

"I mean, for an old guy."

"You know he's only a year or two older than your mum?"

"I mean, not that he's old, at all. No, he's rather young but I prefer men who are born in the same century, thanks all the same."

Charlie laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Did I pull my ass out of the fire sufficiently?"

"Yep, but barely." He slung an arm around her shoulder and watched as Dawn greeted Oliver and introduced her smiling older sister. There was a lot of unnecessary hugging and giggling but he had realised long ago that was just how they were. Dawn eventually left Buffy there, much to the disgust of Oliver's ex-wife and came back to sit next to Tash.

"Good work, Mom."

"Thanks, but I can't help but be a little worried."

"For who?"

"For both of them. It's either going to be amazing or catastrophic."

They spent a moment in contemplation then quickly moved on. Willow, Faith, Mick and Clay had managed to wrangle seats behind them and Mick had his feet on the back of Tash's seat. Whenever he poked her, she rocked her chair suddenly, causing his feet to slip and fall, making him look very uncoordinated. It was a fun game to watch up until the fifteenth time when Faith hit the back of Mick's head.

"Cut it out, otherwise you're going straight back home."

Mick pouted and crossed his arms but stopped poking Tash.

The ceremony started not long after that. All in all, it was a bunch of tedious speeches with the only excitement being the announcement of the valedictorian. Everyone knew Sanna wouldn't get it, she'd been in too many fights but no one was expecting Teddy's name to be read out. Tonks let out a holler during the applause and Remus was beaming.

After the ceremony, the guests were escorted into the antechamber while the Hall could be reconfigured into a dining area. House elves were serving drinks and nibblies for the half hour that they were there. Sanna came and found them rather quickly. She jumped on Tash the moment she was within distance.

"Hey San. How does it feel to be free?"

"Amazing. I'm so excited for Teds. I'll have to tell Victoire." There was a certain look in her eye that amused Tash greatly.

"Still trying, huh?"

"I'm not going to give up on those two."

"Sanna," Dawn called out.

"Mum!" Dawn laughed as she received a similar hug to Tash's. She hadn't seen Sanna this excited since they had Flooed Romania for the first time. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, kiddo."

A voice crept over Sanna and sent shivers down her spine. "Where's my hug?"

Tash felt her sister freeze in her arms and turn to stare at Mick. "But... how? Hogwarts... Muggle... You can't..."

"Part Slayer. Apparently that makes me part magical beast."

Sanna squealed in excitement and enveloped her boyfriend in a hug. "Brilliant."

* * *

Later that night, the LA group retreated to the Eyrie with Charlie and Sanna. The twins were sitting out the back, away from everyone inside, not talking but just enjoying the other's company. They had spent every spare moment talking to each other through owls and their lockets. They had both decided that they had forgiven their parents and that it was unlikely that Charlie and Dawn would not be doing anything anytime soon.

They were unaware that everyone except Charlie and Dawn were in the kitchen. This fact was only made known to them when silence descended in the cottage behind them. Sanna and Tash glanced at each other and scrambled to their feet, awkwardly trying to fit through the door at the same time and failing.

When they finally made it through, they saw what had made everyone else so quiet. Their parents were standing in the doorway, holding hands. Tash's jaw drop and Sanna's eyes widened comically. The other Scoobies didn't seem to know what to make of it.

"That wasn't quite the reaction I was expecting," Charlie muttered.

"Dad?"

"Dawn and I are going to try again. Ow!" Charlie rubbed his arm where Dawn had slapped him.

"That makes it sound... weird. We're going to date and see where things go."

"You're not joking?" Tash asked tentatively.

"Yes, we're doing this just to break your fragile spirits," Dawn replied sarcastically. "Of course we're not joking."

The twins glanced at each other and rushed forward to hug their parents.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Sanna whispered.

"Took you long enough. So, celebratory champagne?" Buffy asked.

* * *

iFinal Author's Note: It's over! I can't believe after five years, I finally finished this. I know it's not the same as the original Parent Trap. I took a look at everything and realised that these characters are not the same and their situations are different, therefore after a certain point I felt like it should branch off a bit. Hope it didn't turn anybody off!

But really, I just wanted to thank everyone so much for the support. You've all been amazing and I could not have done it without you.

See you soon!/i


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